By By Lisa Tindell – news writer
Those individuals who have received mailed letters or e-mail messages bearing that phrase should be careful how they respond to the news.
Madden spoke to the Senior Health Advantage group at D.W. McMillan Hospital last week as part of a series of meetings held on fraud and identity theft.
Last week, a Brewton woman described an incident involving a check she received in the mail.
Although the awarding of the grant was a welcome surprise, the recipient of the letter and check felt something was a little fishy.
Situations like the one described above are becoming all too familiar for consumers throughout the area, area bank officials said.
Criminals have found ways to take advantage of unsuspecting individuals in many ways, especially through the Internet, Madden said.
Madden said thieves who conduct this type of activity usually claim they are a representative of a financial institute, a credit card or utility company, an Internet service provider or any number of other possibilities.
The pharming technique used by some scam artists typically finds a computer that is infected with malicious software which allows unauthorized access to your computer, Madden said.
With so many different forms of fraud and identity theft circulating across the country, the best advice anyone can give is to be alert and cautious in all circumstances Madden said.
Madden completed her presentation with a cautionary word of advice.