Don't fall for the bait-and-hook of a phishing e-mail.
These are e-mails that lead you to Web sites that looks exactly like they belong to an official organization, such as a bank or government agency, but are really built by scammers trying to steal your
financial information.
I got a real good one today at work, allegedly from the IRS.
It was good news -- I was owed a $620.50 long-delayed tax refund, the e-mail read. All I needed to do was click a link to fill out a form.
So what told me off the bat this was no good?
The subject field was a bunch of numbers, instead of words. And the e-mail itself was pretty bare bones, no logos, phone numbers or Web addresses. Also the IRS does not have my work e-mail address. (Usually the agency sends letters.)
Still I might want 620 bucks, so if I ignored all the problems with e-mail and clicked the link, what I found was a very good copy of the IRS Web site.
Now to prevent me from any hanky-panky, the site warned, "For security reasons, we will record your ip-address and date" and "Deliberate wrong inputs are criminally pursued and indicted." (I look forward to the feds coming to my desk.)
Then I was first asked to type in my Social Security number and filing status, and lead to a page that asked for my:
-E-mail address (Now, why would the IRS need that? I got an e-mail from them in the first place. The real reason to ask: So the crooks can send me more scams.)
-Full name, address, phone and date of birth. (These are the building blocks of identity theft.)
-Debit card number, expiration date, password and bank. (Why does the IRS need that to send me a refund? The site never explains. The real reason: To buy stuff in my name.)
And here's my favorite: The site suggests I close the Web broswer after I'm done "for security reasons." (In truth, for their security, not mine.)
While the site looked legit with all the graphics and links, I quickly spotted a few problems.
The Web address was a series of letters and numbers, not "irs.gov." And clicking the links, such as on frequently asked questions, got me nowhere.
Now when I was done giving away all this financial information, I was forwarded to a page on the legitimate IRS site -- a common phishing tactic to make you think you have been on the official site all along.
The lesson here: Call the official customer service phone line of company or agency that appears to send you an e-mail like this.
Don't use any numbers provided in the e-mail. Go on the Internet and look them up on the official Web site. Or use the numbers included on a monthly bill or statement.
If you have given financial information on a Web site you think might be fake, call the three credit reporting agencies to have fraud alerts put on your files. Get the contact information to place the alerts here.
Recently I was asked:
is this a scam: http://www.runyourcarwithwater.com/?hop=cbadmin&gclid=CKOQlNzPupICFQEpxwod_F_8bQ
they claim you can run your car on water? As hybrid conversion, you can buy a kit to convert your car into vehicle that runs on water and gas?
It's doubtful. Most of the experts I have interviewed over the years said their tests show these "gas-savers" don't work.
And the Wall Street Journal weighed in with a story today:
"...Auto-industry officials and federal energy experts say most fuel-saving add-ons don't work. The Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Trade Commission have tested products that claim to boost fuel economy and found they generally don't improve vehicles' efficiency — and they sometimes actually harm performance and increase emissions."See the full story here.
The best fuel saver is your foot. By not speeding and avoiding fast starts and stops, you'll save gas.
Consider my brother-in-law: He said he got two more miles to the gallon by going the speed limit during his daily commute.
And he said he got to red lights the same time as drivers who sped by him.