Created: 7/2/2009 6:03:11 PM 
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Karin Blakely is first to tell you that she is not computer savvy. But Blakely says she routinely deletes what looks like junk e-mail.
"I get so many in my inbox and it is all junk," says Blakely.
But recently she received a Phishing e-mail that she would normally ignore.
Blakely says, "It looked official."
The e-mail requested her to update her user name and password information or face the threat of losing her account.
"I did not want to lose my account," says Blakely. She responded by providing her user name and password and now knows she made a mistake.
"They stole my address book and contacted all of my friends with a bogus e-mail asking for help," says Blakely.
The e-mail to her friends claimed that Blakely was stuck in England and needed $1410 to get home. It said that $140 was for the hotel bill and the remainder was for her travel.
It was a scam.
"I found out when a friend called me," says Blakely.
She said she began calling her friends because she knew that some of them would send money to the phony address.
She has since changed the security and passwords to her other accounts but says this experience has been a valuable lesson.
"It is going to be a while before I even forward an e-mail to someone else," says Blakely.
Phishing is a deception designed to steal your personal data, such as credit card numbers, passwords, or other information. It may look like an e-mail from a co-worker, or a social networking site, even your financial institution.
Do not open it!
Your first level of defense is to secure your computer, some Phishing e-mails may contain malicious software that can track your activities or simply slow your computer.
©2009 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
