Many people are receiving emails purportedly from Verizon Wireless claiming extremely large amounts owed.  I received one of these phony bills today indicating that I owed almost $2,000 in charges.   The phony bills look exactly like a real Verizon bill and many people are tempted to respond to the bill by clicking on the links contained in the phony email.  This type of scam called, phishing lures you into clicking on a link in a legitimate looking, but totally bogus email in order to clear up what appears to be an obvious mistaken bill.  Don’t do it.  By clicking on the links you risk becoming a victim of identity theft by providing personal information or by unwittingly downloading malware that can read all of  the information in your computer.

TIP

Keep your security software up to date and include security software that recognizes phishing.  Never click on a link when you are not absolutely sure where the message came from.  In this case, if you had any question, you should call the telephone number for Verizon Wireless that you know is correct.  If you do receive one of these phony Verizon Wireless emails, forward it to phishing@verizonwireless.com.