Phishing or Fishing? Can You Tell the Difference?

Are you getting hooked by “phishers?” When we hear this word, the first thing that usually comes to mind is a nice day out on your boat, or maybe even kicked back on the lake with a nice glass of tea or lemonade!

Unfortunately, this alternately spelled word refers to Internet scammers who are casting their lines for people’s financial information. The phishers send e-mails with hijacked corporate logos on them to deceive us into disclosing our bank account information, credit card numbers, passwords, Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information.

We are the unsuspecting victims who receive e-mails asking us to update, validate or confirm our account information. Sometimes, they even threaten to have our accounts closed if we fail to respond. The e-mails appear to be from legitimate banks, credit card companies or even government agencies. But they are not!

If we respond to the message and click on the links provided, this will send us to a Web site. It will look like a legitimate organization’s site, but it is not. It is a bogus Web site whose sole purpose is to trick us into divulging personal information so the operators can steal our identity.

If this happens to you and you live in Summit County, contact the Summit County Sheriff’s Department at .

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that, for the seventh year in a row, identity theft is the number-one consumer complaint category. Anyone can forward phishing e-mails to and to the company, bank or organization that is being impersonated in a phishing e-mail.

Most organizations have information on their Web sites regarding where to report problems. You also may report such e-mails to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) at . This group is a consortium of Internet service providers, security vendors, financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.

The APWG offers these recommendations to avoid being a victim of scams:

• Be suspicious of any e-mail with urgent requests for personal financial information.

• Always ensure that you're using a secure Web site when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser.

• Consider installing a Web browser tool bar to help protect you from known fraudulent Web sites. These toolbars match where you are going with lists of known phisher Web sites and will alert you.

• Regularly log into your online accounts.

• Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card statements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate.

• Ensure that your browser is up to date and that security patches are applied.

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Shawne Buckner

Board Member

WENDCO Westside Neighborhood Development Corporation

As an outreach specialist, I am responsible for developing a consumer education program, giving public presentations and mediating consumer complaints against businesses regarding the purchase of goods or services. Many of these complaints involve foreign lottery scams, predatory mortgage lending, unauthorized charges on credit cards, mail order and telephone sales, motor vehicle repairs, Internet scams and prize offers. I am member of the Summit County Foreclosure Prevention Partnership Program and Tuff Stuff Committee and a board member of Westside Neighborhood Development Corporation of Akron, where I help to provide leadership in the area of housing and commercial revitalization.

I began my career in consumer protection and education in November 2006; prior to that I worked in the banking/mortgage industry for over 10 years. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, I graduated from Ellet High School and went on to pursue an education in criminal justice at The University of Akron.

If I had to pick one thing that I love about my job, I would choose the public speaking events that I give to senior citizens. My goal is to educate as many senior citizens as possible about ways to protect themselves from becoming a victim of crime. My speeches to senior groups range from medical health claim scams, free credit reports, work-at-home schemes and home improvement scams, to protecting themselves from purse snatchings, robberies and burglaries.