Phishing is the act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate company or bank in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The fraudulent (spoof) e-mail directs the user to visit a website where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has.

Most fake emails are typically not personalized, beginning with, for example, "Dear Paystar Customer". If your member name does not appear, be suspicious and do not click on any links in the email.

A spoof email may include a forged email address in the "From" field. This field can easily be altered.

Many spoof emails try to deceive you with the threat that your account is in jeopardy if you don't update it as soon as possible. They may also state that an unauthorized transaction has recently occurred on your account, or claim that Paystar is updating its accounts and needs information fast.

• Credit or debit card numbers
• Bank account numbers
• Social Security numbers
• Driver's License numbers
• Email addresses
• Passwords

Always check where a link is going before you click. Move your mouse over it and look at the URL in your browser or email status bar. Fraudulent links are dangerous. If you click on one, it could direct you to a fake website that tries to collect your personal data or install spyware on your system that can monitor your actions and steal passwords or credit card numbers.

Some emails will look like a website in order to get you to enter personal information. Paystar never asks for personal information in an email.

Spoof emails often contain misspellings and/or incorrect grammar.

Paystar will never email you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer. Never click on an attachment as it could cause you to download spyware or a virus.