I’m Ilyce Glink with expertrealestatetips.net and today we’re going to talk about identity theft.

Have you received any emails lately that look like they come from a bank, financial institution or maybe even eBay?

Or, has the I-R-S emailed you to tell you that they have a refund that’s waiting to be direct deposited into your bank account?

Well all of these emails have something in common. They ask for passwords, Social Security number, personal information and they’re all a scam.

The scam that we’re talking about is called phishing and you might think of phishing as being something you do with a rod and a reel but I’m here to tell you that this kind of phishing has a P and an H and it can rip you off and your identity is going to be gone before you even think about it.

If you’re like me you’ve probably gotten plenty of spoof email that look like they’re from reputable companies like America Online, eBay, SunTrust, the I-R-S, or even Visa. Or maybe someone from Nigeria has 10 million dollars that they need for you to invest.

The logo is there. The symbols are there. The secured socket layer is at the bottom of the page. The only problem is that the email is asking you for your login and maybe even your password and Social Security number and it’s a complete fake.

In the past year phishing scams and spoof emails have become so hi-tech that even the 2000 people who work on identity theft for eBay sometimes have a hard time telling their own email from fake ones.

What can you do? The only way to avoid getting ripped off is to simply assume that every email asking for personal information is a scam. Delete it and then contact the company using a number off of your monthly bill, the toll-free number on the back of your credit card or through contact information provided on the company’s corporate Web site.

Whatever you do, when you get one of these emails don’t reply to it, don’t hit the send button, just hit delete. You’ll be happier for it.

I’m Ilyce Glink, and for more personal finance and identity theft tips, go to my Web site, expertrealestatetips.net.