Internet Phishing Scam Attempt

The Prowers County Sheriff’s Office recently reported an attempt to secure information with an email, “allegedly from the Federal Reserve.  It says a wire transfer did not go thru. It has a ‘click here’ link that I did not click.  It also says the email was sent from the Federal Reserve and gives the correct web site for the Federal Reserve so it looks pretty legitimate. I called my bank and they said it was a phishing scam”. Just wanted to let you know.

(Editor’s Note:) The following is taken from the Wikipedia website:

“Phishing is a way of attempting to acquire information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail spoofing or instant messaging,^[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one. Phishing is an example of social engineering techniques used to deceive users,^[2] and exploits the poor usability of current web security technologies.^[3] Attempts to deal with the growing number of reported phishing incidents include legislation, user training, public awareness, and technical security measures.”

The fact that the email contains graphics that seem to be a true representation of the entity contacting you makes it more difficult to be certain if the email is legitimate.  The best course of action is to always verify the facts before you take any action on the internet or a phone call.   You should always get a phone number or website from an outside source first, and not from the email sent to you, and use that to make contact.