You probably have experienced the awful calamity known as spam. Spam is unwanted and annoying e-mail. However, there is a new type of spam that could lead to disaster. Known as phishing, this type of spam reveals credit card numbers, passwords, account information, and other sensitive data to lurking thieves.

Cyber-criminals obtain such information by sending out e-mails or initiating pop-ups that appear to be genuine. These harmful e-mails or pop-ups attempt to get the user to disclose personal data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, account data, and other information.

For example, a con artist might send you an e-mail that appears to be from your bank. The e-mail even has the bank's official logo in the e-mail. It tells you that your account may be at risk of security breeches, and asks you to follow a link to renew your account information. The hyperlink is even disguised so that you think you are clicking a link that will take you to your bank's web page. However, once you click the link and disclose your personal information, you have given others access to your account.

So the question remains as to how to avoid becoming a victim of phishing scams. One way to avoid becoming a victim is to learn how to spot potentially harmful e-mails. Such e-mails contain phrases that you can identify to help prevent becoming a victim. Such phrases include:

1. Verify your account
2. If you don't respond within 48 hours, your account will be closed
3. Dear valued customer
4. Click the link below to gain access to your account

A good thing to remember is that phishing e-mails are often sent out in bulk and therefore are rarely personal, containing your name and other such relevant information.

Other methods of protection/prevention can help you avoid becoming a victim of phishing scams. Such helpful methods are:

1. Report suspicious e-mail- call the organization and request confirmation of their request(s); if no confirmation is received, alert the company that there may be a phishing scam threatening the company's clients
2. Be wary of clicking links in e-mail addresses- to prevent being a victim of masked URL's, type the URL directly into the address bar of your browser instead of clicking on the hyperlink
3. Make sure the site is secure- in Internet Explorer, a site is secure if there is a yellow lock on the status bar
4. Do not disclose personal or financial information into pop-up windows
5. Update your computer software frequently

If you have been the unfortunate victim of a phishing scam, there are several steps that you should take to avoid becoming further victimized. You should:

1. Report the incident to your credit card company, the company that you thought you were disclosing information to, the IFCC (Internet Fraud Complaint Center), and the FTC (Federal Trade Commission)
2. Change the passwords on your accounts
3. Review credit card and bank statements frequently
4. Use the latest anti-virus and anti-spyware software