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Phishing - A threat to your financial identity

Phishing (pronounced "fishing") is a scam employed by cybercriminals to trick you into providing them with personal information that could be used to steal your identity. The scam usually works like this: You receive an e-mail that appears to come from a reputable company - one you recognize and possibly do business with. This might be your Internet provider, a bank, credit card company, government agency, etc.

The language in the e-mail will be designed to make you think you must respond immediately to solve a problem with your account, avoid cancellation, claim a valuable prize, etc. Most likely you will be asked to update or validate information - account number, password, social security number or other information that can be used to verify your account. You will be encouraged to click on a button to go to the organization's Web site. Don't do it!

If the e-mail you received was part of a phishing scam, the link provided would take you to a fake website that looks just like the real thing. Or, it may actually be the real website but will include pop-up windows designed to gather your personal information. Another objective of this scam may be to infiltrate your computer with a virus or software designed to spy on your Internet transactions.

It's never a good idea to open an e-mail attachment you did not request or one from an unknown sender. And, you should never provide confidential information in response to an e-mail or call you did not initiate.

If you are concerned about your accounts as a result of receiving an e-mail, visit the company's website directly (don't cut and paste the address in the phisher's e-mail), or call to find out if there is a problem and let the company know you received the e-mail.

Bank of the Ozarks will never ask you for sensitive information via e-mail or during a telephone conversation you did not initiate or request.