For the last few years or so, there has been a steady increase in the
amount of people who are out to steal your banking or credit card
information. These people are typically referred to as “credit
card phishers”, and they are “phishing” for your account information in
order to rob you blind, basically.
The most common way credit card phishers find out information is by
sending bulk emails to thousands of people at once. The emails
will often have a credit card or bank logo on them, and sound quite
professional. (Although, a common clue that it is fake is that it
may appear to be written by a non-native English speaker). The
email may refer to you by name, but more often you will just be called
“customer” or something similar. Typically, the email will
include a link to a website that will look exactly like your bank or
credit card website, and ask you to log in and provide your card number
and pin number, or other information that would allow someone else to
use your account to make purchases.
A good way to protect yourself is to call your bank or credit card
company directly when you receive this type of email. Your
financial institution will never ask you to provide your pin number by
email since it is so insecure.
