‘Phishing’ A Form Of Identity Theft

(NWANews.com) March 22, 2006 -- "In 1992 there were 25,000 cases of identity theft in the United States," Foster said. "Last year there were more than 8.9 million."

Foster said people should take steps to protect themselves, but there would always be some risk. "It’s like protecting your house from burglars," Foster told the crowd. "You can make your house a much harder target, but you’ll never be completely safe."

Arvest Bank hosted the identity theft seminar at a Bentonville branch, and the bank is sending out an insert in its customers monthly statements to help advise them on how to protect themselves from phishing scams.

The insert tells Arvest customers what phishing is, recommends customers be suspicious of unsolicited e-mails asking for financial information and tells them to call the bank to alert it if a customer receives any phishing e-mails or phone calls.

Identity thieves are using a new method to try to get your vital information: Phishing.

No, it’s not some demented scheme to steal your license to hunt trophy bass. The scam involves unsolicited phone calls and emails intent on getting a person to divulge vital information. "The e-mail may say it’s from Citibank, it may sound like Citibank and it may even have the Citibank logo in the e-mail, but it isn’t Citibank," Mark Foster, Director of Education for Credit Counseling of Arkansas said during an identity theft seminar on March 16. "The e-mail will often say the person’s credit card company or bank suspects their account has been defrauded and needs them to send in their social security or bank account numbers to prevent having the account shut down. They play on people’s emotions to get them to send in information before they think something isn’t right."

Foster said people should always contact their bank or credit card company by another channel to confirm what their account status is. "Just hang up and call the 800 number on the back of your credit card," Foster said.

Foster said identity theft is the fastest growing type of fraud in the country.

If a person believes they have had their identity stolen, CCOA recommends calling the fraud department at Experian (1-888-397-3724), TransUnion (1-800-680-7289), and Equifax (1-800-525-6285) and alert them to have "fraud alert" attached to their credit file. Next a person should contact their creditors, banks and file a police report.

Foster said people can also get a free credit report yearly, thanks to new federal laws, by going to www. annualcreditreport. com to help monitor their credit for unusual activity.