I thought I was talking to the bank

All his life, Richard had been thrifty, even a scrooge at times. He prudently saved and invested his money at a few reputable financial institutions. Although his wife Mary teased him about his frugal habits, she was quietly proud of the way he could stretch a penny. His savings were especially important now that they had just retired.

Richard usually read all materials sent from his banks and brokers, so he was surprised to receive an urgent email that looked like it came from his local bank. It asked him to update his checking account information or else a hold would be placed on his account. The email looked official, but Richard thought the request seemed odd, and surely the bank would follow up with more information. He didn’t respond immediately. Sure enough, Richard received a phone call a couple days later. The caller said she was from his local bank, and pressed him to update his checking account information. Feeling reassured, Richard returned to the email, clicked on the provided link, and entered his information.

A few months later, Richard and Mary decided to buy a condo near Atlanta near their two grandchildren, but when they applied for a mortgage they were shocked to hear Richard's low credit score. With further research, they discovered someone had opened several credit cards in Richard’s name. Instead of beginning retirement in Atlanta, they ended up spending a year and even Richard’s hard earned money cleaning up their credit.

To learn how to protect yourself from phishing scams, see Email - Phishing