We've all received them, emails from a seemingly trusted source like a bank, delivery company or even your own place of employment, claiming there was some type of issue or another requiring you to offer up some personal information or to click on a link or button to help clear the issue up. If you receive an email similar to this DO NOT CLICK ON ANY LINK OR OFFER UP ANY INFORMATION! 

This is a common form of security attack called a phishing or spear phishing scam.

Groups attempting to steal personal information will often use e-mails that appear to originate from a trusted source to try and trick a user into entering valid credentials at a fake website. Typically the e-mail and the web site look like they are part of a bank or some other organization the user is doing business with.

For example, it could be a phishing email if...

• There are misspelled words in the e-mail or it contains poor grammar. 
• The message is asking for personally identifiable information, such as credit card numbers, account numbers, passwords, PINs or Social Security Numbers. 
• There are "threats" or alarming statements that create a sense of urgency. For example: "Your account will be locked until we hear from you" or "We have noticed activity on your account from a foreign IP address." 
• The domain name in the message isn't the one you're used to seeing. It's usually close to the real domain name but not exact. For example: 
• Phishing website: www.regionsbanking.com 
• Real website: www.regions.com

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