What is phishing?

"Phishing" is one of the most prevalent forms of Internet fraud. It is a process where deceptive emails and webpages are used to collect personal information.

Phishing attempts commonly originate through an unsolicited email that appears to be from a company that the recipient trusts and one that has their personal information. These emails may ask you to help the impersonated business by verifying your personal and/or account log in information and then provide a seemingly legitimate link to the business. These links may send you to a falsified website that has been created to mirror the impersonated business, but with the sole purpose of capturing your personal information.

• Request that you send us your Username or personal information (SSN, credit card, etc.) in an email
• Send email attachments, except upon your direct request to a specific ShareBuilder staff member
• Request or provide account passwords, either via email or phone
• Send "identity verification" email requests — such requests will only be made through the ShareBuilder website

If you are still concerned about an email you have received — especially if it is asking for information that we have stated that we will never ask for — please do not comply with the email's request. Instead, forward the suspect email to spoof@sharebuilder.com or contact our Customer Service team to review the email and verify its authenticity.

For more information about information security, please visit our Security and Protection center.