Security Center
Phishing, Smishing, and Vishing
Oh My!
Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail or pop-up advertisement that claims to be from a legitimate business or organization you are familiar with. Scam artists recreate pages using information from legitimate web sites in hopes of fooling consumers into providing their personal information. The email or pop-up will ask you to “update” or “validate” your account information, passwords, logins, and will make some form of urgent appeal so that you will respond quickly. The email or pop-up may appear to be from a trusted source such as your favorite community bank headquartered in Machias, shopping site, or a government agency. Clicking on a website link in the email may direct you to a fraudulent web site.