Phishing

“Phishing” is an attempt by Internet fraudsters to lure you into giving personal information and gain access to your financial information.

• Use caution when you receive an e-mail that directs you to a Web page asking for personal information. It may look like it's legitimate, but the Web site may be designed to steal your personal information.

• To bait you, the e-mail message may suggest there is an urgent matter threatening your account. These messages generally ask you to click a link to a false Web site and provide confidential personal or financial data.

• Never give out confidential information unless you are absolutely assured of the reason you are giving the information and confident in whom is receiving the information.

• Don’t open, click on or reply to the e-mail or pop-up message. Don’t open any attachments. Delete them.

• Pop-up messages or other unsolicited e-mails may be an attempt to install viruses or spyware on your hard drive that can read your keystrokes and capture your personal data. In turn, this information may be used to commit fraud, including identity theft.

• Contact First Citizens and/or your credit card company immediately if you think you have submitted sensitive information in response to a fraudulent e-mail or Web site.

• The Federal Trade Commission offers several precautions you can take to prevent “phishing” at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/index.html.

• For additional advice on how to protect yourself from "phishing," visit the Web site for The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - U.S. Department of the Treasury, http://www.occ.gov/consumer/phishing.htm or download this brochure: http://www.occ.treas.gov/consumer/PhishBrochFINAL-SCREEN.pdf.

• Act quickly if you believe you’ve been subject to identity theft.

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