Posted by Lending Club :: September 20, 2007 @ 6:47 am

For all the good that has come from email, there has been a major downside as well. Despite filters and increased awareness of the problem, spam continues to be an issue. Of the many forms of spam: annoying, virus bearing, or trolling for personal information, the latter has the direst of implications for your personal finances.

The practice of sending a spam message in the hopes of tricking you into divulging personal information is known as phishing. Perhaps the only thing more alarming than the number of phishing messages out there is the number of people who fall for them.

It’s understandable how the untrained eye can be duped by such a message. They tend to look very professional and legitimate. I recently received a message that apparently came from my bank. It had the company logo, was well written, and explained that there had been repeated failed attempts by multiple computers to access my account. It provided a link to login and verify my account information.

I found it suspicious that the link they provided was simply an IP address, as opposed to something like www.nameofmybank.com. I also noticed that the link used http:// instead of https://. Secure login screens, like the ones you would expect for logging in to a bank or similar institution, use the https:// protocol for added security.

In addition to helping you notice these signs of phishy activity, here are some other tips to help you protect yourself:

Don’t Click on Links in Email
Regardless of the apparent sender, never click on an email link requesting personal information. If your bank needed to inform you of a legitimate issue, they likely wouldn’t do so through email.

Type the address directly into your browser
If you think an email is legitimate, login to your account in the normal manner. Open your web browser and type the address in directly. Also verify that your browser takes you to the right website. Many banks now use site keys for this purpose. If you mistype the address, you may be taken to a knock-off website designed to look like your bank. Once you are in your online banking environment, you can see if there are any account alerts waiting for you.

Try a Bad Password
One of the most interesting phishing tips I’ve heard is to intentionally try a bad password if you’re suspicious of a website. If it logs you in anyway and asks for you to update your personal information, you can be quite certain that you are at a fake website.

Ignore Such Requests
If a true issue has arisen, and you ignore a suspicious email, you can expect to hear about the problem from your bank in other ways. They may send you a letter describing the problem, tell you at their local branch on your next visit, or telephone you. Be careful about divulging personal information in unsolicited phone calls as well. If someone calls you, claiming to be from your bank and requesting information, hang up and call your bank back. When you initiate contact, you are less likely to be victimized.

Keep Protective Software Up to Date
In addition to anti-virus software, consider installing anti-spam and anti-spyware software. Maintain all such software regularly to remain protected.

Lending Club is concerned about your privacy. While even the most watchful of consumers can sometimes be tricked into divulging personal information, we hope that these tips help to keep you safer online.