Affiliate Marketing Secrets

Also called “carding” or “spoofing,” the practice known as “phishing” is a high-tech scam in which identity thieves pose as legitimate businesses and services and request your personal information, which they may use to assume various forms of legal or financial responsibility in your name. Most often, these requests come in the form of e-mails or pop-up screens that ask you to validate or update your personal information. E-mail scams may also carry worms or viruses that can further harm you by planting potentially damaging viruses in your computer system. They look legitimate, and they direct you to official-looking Web pages that seem to be created by or affiliated with organizations with whom you do business. Unfortunately, they’re not. Remember: legitimate companies will not send you e-mails asking for sensitive personal information. Do not reply to such e-mails or click on any links in these messages. When in doubt, contact the company directly by phone.