Once again, I am writing about phishing and other email scams. We have not had any reports of people falling victim to one of these in Park's community in a long time so I had thought that we got the message across. Unfortunately, the IRS Refund phishing email had fooled a number of us into responding. I received several reports from people stating that they had responded. I even had other people come forward and tell me that they had responded to other phishing emails. Not knowing if anyone else has fallen victim to these truly frightens me.

If you are reading this because you recently responded to a scam and are looking for help, please stop reading this article and go to the FTC's identity theft website: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/. They provide a lot of information on what to do if your information is stolen and if it is being used.

Here's some of their recommendations:

• Contact your financial institutions (banks, credit card companies, etc).Start with the account that you provided to the thieves. Some companies may suggest that you do not need to close your account or get different account numbers, but I suggest that you at least get new account numbers.
• Place a fraud alert on your credit reports with a consumer reporting company.You will only need to contact one of the following companies:

How do we spot a phishing attack?

It's not as hard as you may think. Just remember a few simple things:

• No legitimate company will send you an email asking for personal information.
• If it seems too good to be true, it definitely is.
• Nothing is ever free. There's always a catch (e.g., stealing your money).

I hate to be negative in those statements, but in our case, I must. Unfortunately, the Internet is not the friendly place all of us envisioned. It is full of people trying to steal our money, infect our computers, etc. Our best defense is knowledge. If we are aware of the dangers and of the scams, we can avoid them and enjoy our time on the Internet.

Please take time to look at other tips and sections on our website. Here you can find several tips on protecting yourself online. Every month, we write a new article that addresses issues faced by you and those around you. We would love to get your comments about our articles, suggestions for new articles, etc. Also, send us any questions you have regarding information security and protecting yourself. You can reach us at infosec@park.edu.