You wake up, log onto the Internet and check your e-mail and you are surprised to discover an urgent e-mail from your bank saying your identity has been compromised. In order to continue using your account, you must log on to their sites and provide proof of identity. You follow the link included in the e-mail and verify your name, address, Social Security number and bank accounts. You then submit and wait for your name to be cleared.

You have just been phished, and your identity is now stolen. Phishing, pronounced fishing, is an online scam that has surfaced in recent years and its name describes the scam precisely. Identity thieves throw out the bait hoping that some unlucky victim will swallow the hook.They do this by sending out e-mails pretending to be from reputable companies, such as mortgages, auto loans, title loans, or other institutions with which you do business.

These e-mails typically include a link guiding you to a replica of the real company website. This replica may ask for personal information, or it may have the same login screen you have seen 1000 times before. The only difference is when you login, your name and password is transmitted to the thief. You might guess that only old or naive people fall for such tactics.

You might be surprised to learn that one of the most popular means of phishing is by using social network sites such as Myspace or Facebook. You might be navigating on one of the sites looking at friend updates when you see an interesting link so you click on the link and come to a login screen. You assume that your profile logged out and quickly sign back in, only you've just sent a thief your name and password. Many young people very familiar with the Internet fall for this scam every day.

How can you protect yourself against phishing? Well, first of all, be very suspicious of any unusual e-mails you get claiming to be from companies with which you do business. Companies will never ask you to verify personal information online. Never send your account information to a suspicious e-mail because that would be like giving all of your information to a stranger calling your phone and claiming to be in your bank.

When logging in to websites, look to the top of your web browser at the address bar and verify that the first part of the URL between www. and .com is correct. For example, if your bank is Eastern National Bank and the bank's website is EasternNationalBank.com, make sure the web address in the address bar of your browser is correct. Look for even the smallest difference. For example EasterNationalBank.com is missing the "n" in "Eastern". Even a single letter missing means you are on a phishing site.

Finally, never give out your username and password to anyone, no matter who they claim to be. Customer service will never ask this information of you. Be careful and protect yourself from phishing. Otherwise, you may swallow a thief's hook.