'Spear phishing.' It's a scam, not a sport | Crime

An evolving scam will have you guarding your name and e-mail address as closely as you protect your Social Security and account numbers.

Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy for the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, warned consumers about 'spear phishing.'

"Spear phishing is when a criminal sends you an email that sounds and looks like it’s from a company you have an existing relationship with," Stephens said. "For example, a spear-phishing message might address you by name. 

"A message may look something like this: 'Hello Ms. Anderson, Because of the recent hacking incident affecting some Acme customers, we are asking you to visit this website [URL provided] and update your security settings.' The email will try to convince you to bite on the bait and go to that website, and then divulge other information like your Social Security number and credit card number."

Stephens said never enter your name, e-mail address or any other personal information into a website after following a link from an email.

Always initiate direct contact with a company to confirm it is attempting to reach you through e-mail, text or other contact.