Avoid Phishing Scams and Keep the Fun in April Fools’ Day

With April, and the often infamous April Fools’ Day fast approaching, we are reminded how fun spring, and even a friendly joke can be. A prank that’s not so friendly? Phishing. "Phishing" is when criminals use email, phone and online scams to purposefully and maliciously trick people into sharing information, such as your confidential account information. NoPhishing.org has some great advice on how to avoid these all too common scams:

•Never provide confidential information unless you started the conversation. Never answer an email, pop-up, phone call, letter, etc. that asks for personal information. Your credit union, or any other legitimate company, does NOT ask for this information, ever!

•Be suspicious! Because something is written down in an email or in a pop-up does not mean that it is true and legitimate.

•Do not click on a link provided in an email or enter information in a pop-up window. Go to the website yourself and from there navigate to the area of interest.

•Use anti-malware solutions that are updated.

•Do not use public computers or wireless networks to conduct confidential activities.

•Shred all documents that contain personal, sensitive or confidential information.

For more information on avoiding phishing attacks, you can visit: hxxp://www.nophishing.org/.