Consumer Information

What is phishing?

Have you ever received an email with one of the following (or similar) messages:

"Technical Services are carrying out a planned software upgrade. Please visit the following link to verify your account."

"An unauthorized transaction has occurred. To ensure that your account has not been compromised, please click below."

If so, you have recieved a "phishing" email. According to the FTC:

"Phisers send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business or organization that you may deal with - for example, an ISP, bank, online payment service, or even a government agency."

"Phishers" or "Spoofers" send you fraudulent information and ask you to validate it, and then may even threaten you if you don't. The email or website may look official, and could even include the company's logo illegally. If you click on the link, it may direct you to a website that looks exactly like the company's website. But beware, it is a false site that wants to trick you into entering sensitive information like bank account or credit card numbers, social security numbers, or passwords so they can misuse the information.

There are a number of things you can do to avoid phishing scams. First, if you receive an email and you think it is actually legitimate, do not click on the link. Instead, type the address provided directly into your browser window and click email. Do not try to copy or paste, or click anywhere on the email message. Second, remember TNBIDCO will never send you an email regrading your account information, and will never under any circumstances ask you to transmit sensitive information via email. You can always call TNBIDCO at (731) 644 - 7108 if you have any questions about an email.

Identity Theft

Identity Theft is when someone uses your name, bank account, credit card numbers, address, or other sensitive information to commit a crime or other illegal activities. Identity theft can commonly occur on the internet when a website doesn't properly secure their pages that transmit sensitive information. A computer hacker then can hack into those webpages and retrieve the information.