Phishing or Fishing?

The internet has brought us many new things including a new vocabulary.  One of the new words is "phishing".  In case you never heard this, it is a method of "fishing" for your personal information to steal your identity or to make charges against your credit cards or bank accounts.  The usual technique is to use an e-mail to tell you that a certain agency needs you to update your account information.  The e-mail looks very professional and often you can't tell it from the real thing.  When you click on the link provided, you are sent to a page which is not secure (no https) and asked to enter your information - usually account numbers, passwords, or credit card numbers.  Should you do this, the information is sent to the thief who will then use this information to access your accounts.  Phishing is no longer unusual.  I have received at least four such requests in the last couple of weeks.  Three of them came telling me that my aol account would be suspended if I did not update my information within 24 hours.  One even included a telephone number which was very similar to the actual aol number.  Since I knew that a reputable company would never ask for such information by e-mail, I didn't fall for it.  In fact, after the third one I actually called aol to make sure that this was a "phishing expedition".  They verified that it was and asked me to forward the e-mails to them for investigation.  The other one that I received yesterday "came from a bank" which I've never even dealt with - they were just fishing randomly for suckers who would respond.  The rule is never give out your personal information in reply to an e-mail asking for updated information.  Call the company directly and make sure that your account must be updated.  Phishing is common but so are other scams.  My father-in-law recently received several letters and several calls telling him that he had won the Canadian lottery and that a check for a huge amount was on the way.  All he had to do was send them a check to cover the taxes on his winnings.   At first, despite our warnings, he thought it was true.  Fortunately he checked with his local congressman who told him it was a scam.  Then when the last caller told him that he had won the lottery, he replied "You are a liar and you are going to hell!"  Then he hung up.   I think he got it right. Beware!  Don't be gullible!  There are many crooks using new techniques to steal from you.  And stealing from you through the internet or the telephone may actually be easier, safer, and more productive than actually breaking into your home.