The Importance of a Phishing Filter - Save Your Identity and Money From Theft

As the business of identity theft grows each year, equipping your computer with a good phishing filter becomes more and more important. Phishing is the practice of stealing personal information via the Internet. With this information, phishers can make your life miserable.

Phishers are unscrupulous criminals who will go to great lengths to trick honest people by misrepresenting themselves as representatives of reputable businesses. What they are really out to do is to lure you into their trap.

Computer savvy phishers will create fake Web sites using company logos to make them appear legitimate. They generally contact their victims through instant messages or e-mails, requesting that they go to a specific Web site to "verify" their account information. Sometimes, they create pop-up windows which are difficult to resist.

If you visit the bogus site and enter any information, you could be opening yourself up to having your bank accounts tampered with, incurring fraudulent purchases on your credit card accounts or becoming the victim of identity theft. Once any of these happen, you will have a long road to recovering what is rightfully yours including your own name and identity.

Having a phishing filter will protect you by preventing you from entering personal information into Web sites which are confirmed to be engaged in phishing activities. Many filters can be downloaded from the Internet at no charge and will automatically update themselves to keep your protection current. If you choose a filter which doesn't come with an auto updater, you should plan to run manual updates at least once each week.

Phishing filters include Phishing Sweeper 2.1.0.1, Phishing Detector 1.0, Clear Search Anti-Phishing 1.80.d and SPAMfighter. Check online to see which are the most up to date before downloading. As with all things online, software, including phishing filters, are subject to changes and even to being outmoded. To find the best phishing filter for your Internet shopping and banking habits, do some research online about the programs or ask a representative from your local Internet Service Provider for advice.

One of the best ways to protect yourself from Internet fraud is to beware anytime someone contacts you to request your personal information. In most cases, you initiate the exchange of your personal information. If someone contacts you to request it, you can always ask for a phone number to determine whether the request is legitimate.