What Is "Phishing"?
"Phishing" refers to a person or a group of cyber-criminals who create an imitation or copy of an existing legitimate Web page to trick users into providing sensitive personal information. Responding to "phishing" emails put your accounts at risk.

Large numbers of recipients are being "spammed," without actual knowledge of their banking affiliation. They request and collect email addresses and other confidential information like financial account numbers, IDs and passwords. The cyber-criminals have copied the logos and the content styles of widely known and respected financial institutions (including U.S. Bank) in an attempt to elicit a response from a recipient who may or may not be a customer of that financial institution.

Who Are Cyber-Criminals?
"Phishing" cyber-criminals solicit personal data from unsuspecting victims via the Internet - like personal IDs, passwords, card numbers and PINs - and sell this information to other criminals who use it for financial gain. They can also access a customer's accounts through online banking and set up false bill payments that send checks to the criminal or a conspirator. In other cases, criminals transfer funds from all available customer accounts, including credit cards, savings accounts and home equity loans into their checking account. A copy of the customer's credit card or check card is then used with their PIN at ATMs around the world to withdraw cash from their checking account.

How Cyber-Criminals Operate
To increase the number of responses, cyber-criminals include upsetting or exciting statements in their emails. They want people to react immediately and respond with the desired information without thinking. To protect yourself, take the time to examine the claims made in the email. If you receive an email requesting sensitive information, check its authenticity by contacting the company that appears to be the originator of the email.