Phishing   (Identity Theft etc.)

I know all PVNS customers are savvy Internet users and many of you know more about some of these things than I do. But just in case you haven't been paying much attention lately, I hope you will check this out.

Identity theft is moving more to using the Internet these days. This is no cause to stop or even curtail using the Internet. The Internet is probably the safest way to send credit card and private information if done correctly, but we do need to be aware of the dangers.

One of the newest ways to fool us into giving up personal information now is called Phishing. (a spoof on the word fishing) It involves sending you an e-mail and getting you to click on a link on that e-mail. There are hundreds of scams that are being used and some of them look very real. Notice that I am sending you  links to some sites devoted to this subject below. It is safe to click on these links... Or,... is it? This whole page you are reading now could be a fake designed to trick you to clicking on a link. Then, the page it takes you to could be an exact fake of the site you were seeking. I know that is pretty far fetched but it demonstrates what is happening. 

PVNS and probably any other reputable business will not send you an e-mail asking for personal information. If you receive a request to click a link on an e-mail and you have reason to believe it is legitimate, we suggest you do NOT click the link but actually type the address of the site you are seeking in your browser address bar and go to it that way. Any site requesting information should be a verified SSL (secure) site. The http in the web address should be https which means it is a certified and encrypted site. When you visit such a site if you do not get a warning, that means the site is certified with your browser and there should be no problem. If you do get a warning asking if you want to accept the certificate, then you may want to check further via a phone call to the company etc.

Check the links below for more information on Phishing.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/phishingalrt.htm

http://www.antiphishing.org

The link below helps understand certified  SSL sites.

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/SSL-Certificates-HOWTO/x64.html

Certify your e-mail - (Free)    www.instantssl.com
                                             www.thawte.com/email/index.html

Have you installed our new Spam Scope yet? http://spamscope.pvns.net
http://www.pvns.net/spamscopetips.htm

E-mail a Phishing, Spyware and Adware expert - dgray1043@pvns.net

Thanks for using PVNS    www.pvns.net