Phishing scam targets military families Published Nov. 30, 2010 By Richard Brock Legal office KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- A new phishing scam is targeting service members and their families. As reported in an Esecurity planet article, the scam is based on unsolicited e-mails which appear to be from USAA which attempt to trick people into divulging personal information to identity thieves. USAA and the Navy Federal Credit Union were used in a similar scam which sought Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, birth dates and other personal information. The current scam uses titles like "USAA Notification" or "Urgent Message for USAA customer" as lures to get recipients to click on a link embedded in the e-mail. Those victims who do click on the link are taken to a fake login page that looks like USAA's legitimate website where they are requested to provide further personal information. Security experts describe the scam as one of the more intricate and widespread phishing schemes they have seen. This is just one of many fake financial websites created to obtain personal information from individuals. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, more than 126,000 fake websites designed to steal sensitive personal data were discovered in the first half of 2010 alone. Phishing scam targets military families It's important to realize that financial institutions never request personal information via e-mail. Airmen and their families should ignore suspicious, unsolicited e-mails and never click on any attachments or links contained in them. They should communicate with their banks or credit unions using listed telephone numbers or trusted published websites. For more information, call the legal office, 376-8716.