Protect yourself from phishing and online scams

- [Narrator] There are a lot of positive things we can do online. We can talk to friends and family, we can make purchases and conduct business all from behind our computers or mobile devices. But online interactions aren't always safe. There are always inherent risks in being active online, so it's important to be aware of the common scams that are out there. One such scam is phishing. Your personal information is a valuable asset to people who want to steal it in order to sell it to others or to impersonate you online in order to access your various accounts. Much like a common method for catching fish is to put bait on a hook so the fish will want to eat it, phishers have many different types of bait they use to try to fool people into sharing information like their passwords, credit card information, and other private data. They may send you an email or an instant message through a social media site or an online game you're playing. They may pretend to be someone else or make it look like they're an employee of a site you use like a bank or your internet service provider and ask you to click links to complete a task under the guise of protecting your information or making you think you're in some kind of trouble. If you click their links or give them information, they've hooked you like a fish. So let's take a look at four practices you can follow to avoid being hooked by these scammers. First, be cautious of suspicious messages. Scammers try to make their messages look official and familiar to make you trust them, often asking for you to confirm personal information or account passwords. Examine messages carefully and avoid sharing information over messages or email. If you receive a message claiming to be from a company you've shopped with in the past asking you to reply with a password or other information, don't do it. Instead, go to that company's website directly from your browser and log into your account. If they really need information from you, you'll most likely see a message when you log in. Alternately, call the company's customer service line yourself. Second, look for signs that a webpage is safe and secure. Before you provide credit card information or enter a password or other personal info, take a look at the address bar in your browser and make sure you either see a lock icon or that the web address starts with HTTPS, not just HTTP. The lock and HTTPS indicate that the site is secure and encrypted, so it's highly unlikely your information can be intercepted. On top of that, make sure you're on the right webpage. Scammers sometimes set up websites with addresses very close to legitimate sites and even design their scam sites to look like those legitimate sites. Oftentimes they'll misspell the company's name or use a different domain address. For example, they might have registered a dot net version of a company's dot com address. Always check the address to make sure you're on the right page. Third, keep your web browser and operating system up-to-date. You can turn on automatic updates to make sure the latest software releases are automatically installed on your computer, which means you'll always receive the latest security updates that help protect your computer. And fourth, consider installing anti-malware software on your computer. This is special software designed to protect your computer from malicious software and hackers. Sometimes scammers trick people into installing what looks like legitimate software, but turns out to be software that tracks and steals data. Anti-malware software can identify these malicious programs and delete them from your computer. Again, with all of its benefits, there are still always risks to being online. So you'll always want to stay vigilant and cautious to protect yourself from phishing scams.