Editor’s note: In this new monthly column, the leader of consumer protection at the Northwestern district attorney’s office will focus on important consumer issues, fraud trends or other such topics.
My email inbox has been bursting at the seams lately and I bet yours has too. Every day, I have dozens of emails from senders I don’t recognize and a handful from people that I do recognize. I delete emails I know are fraudulent or offering something I don’t want or need, but some of them seem to come from companies that look familiar. “Seem to” is an important distinction: These senders are hoping to fool me by using a “phishing” scam.
Phishing sounds like the sport of fishing, but instead of using a pole and bait, these people use email to lure potential victims to take advantage — even steal — from them. They send an email purportedly from a bank, credit card company, a retailer, a delivery company, a utility, or even a government agency such as the Social Security Administration. The scammer tells you there is a problem in order to get you to bite, and once you do, they reel you in.
The email might describe one of these scenarios:
■A problem with your bank or credit card account, asking you to click on the link or call a number to straighten it out.
■A suspicious activity with your Amazon or PayPal account, with instructions to click on the link in the email to fix it.
■A package being delivered, but you need to verify your delivery…
