There are numerous, inventive ways being used by Internet crooks to commit fraud. One approach involves a fraudulent Web site touting extremely attractive deals on goods, services, deposits or investments in hopes that consumers will provide a credit card number, bank account number, password or a check. Some con artists set up fake banks (on the Web or elsewhere) and use false or misleading statements to indicate they offer FDIC-insured accounts.
A variation involves a copycat Web site that deliberately uses a name or Internet address similar to, but not the same as, that of a large, well-known bank, retail store or other company. Yet another scheme uses an e-mail, which appears to be your Internet service provider or a company that you already do business with that asks you to "re-enter" your Social Security number, credit card or debit card number, or personal identification numbers (PINs). Keep in mind that some fraud artists also have been known to use the FDIC name or logo illegally to make false claims about federal insurance.
Best defense: Never give money, credit card or debit card numbers, PINs or any other personal information in response to an unsolicited e-mail, no matter who it's supposedly from or how legitimate it may appear. For example, "If you already have an established relationship with a company, they should not be asking you for account numbers because they already have that information," says Michael Benardo, chief of the electronic banking branch at the FDIC.
If you're tempted by an e-mail offer that claims to be from a company you already do business with, Benardo suggests that you contact the company using a phone number or e-mail address you know is legitimate, such as one listed on a recent account statement or other literature from the company. And always be suspicious of offers that seem too good to be true?for example, an Internet deposit paying 20 percent interest when local banks and other Internet banks are paying five percent. "Common sense should tell you that no one gives you something for nothing," says the FDIC's Morgan.
Before providing your credit card or debit card number or other personal information to a Web site in a transaction you didn't initiate, double check the Web address or "URL" with another, reliable source. "Even a one letter difference in URLs could land you on a fraudulent Web site," Benardo says. Avoid a Web site that looks sloppy (such as misspelled words), doesn't include key information (a mailing address or telephone number) or has an unusually long Internet address (which could indicate it's a temporary Web site set up by a crook). Also look for information confirming that your card number will be "encrypted" (scrambled) so that it cannot be intercepted by a third party.
