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Jan 13, 2004 -- Don't respond to e-mails "phishing" for info

More spam mail than real e-mail now comes to our Inboxes these days, and some of it can be very deceiving. “Pre-text” e-mails are cons that look like official e-mails from companies with whom you do business. It’s also known as “phishing.” And two major corporations have put out warnings today about these e-mails. The first regards an e-mail that looks like it comes from Citibank. The other is from AT&T. The Citibank e-mail claims that people must “verify their account” by clicking on a link in the e-mail. They come from Citibank security or accounts management, so they look official. And they claim that the company will have to cancel the account until the identity is verified. So, people quickly enter personal and financial information to avoid bouncing checks and other problems. AT&T’s e-mail looks very official as well. It says that you need to resubmit your credit card information for billing on your Internet service. And, this is going on with tons of companies. AOL has had problems, and Charles Schwab has information set up on its Web site specifically about these problems. You never know what can happen when this information gets in the wrong hands, so do not give out any information through these e-mails. If you’re having a problem with one of the companies you do business with, contact that company directly over the phone.
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