These Phish Bite

In recent months, scam artists havebeen preying on gullible computerusers, using e-mails that look like theyare from legitimate outfits like eBay,PayPal, and AOL. The scam, known asphishing, is aimed at getting the e-mailrecipient to reveal personal financialdata like bank account or credit cardnumbers. Now, as alerts about phishinghave made more consumers aware ofthe danger, the thieves are changingtheir storyline. The new pitch is thatyour Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) coverage will be canceledunless you cough up your bankaccount numbers along with your personalidentification number. To makethem look authentic, these e-mails comecomplete with signatures from FDICofficials. If you receive an e-mail likethis, you can help halt this con by forwardingit to alert@fdic.gov.