Baton Rouge, La.--Attorney General Buddy Caldwell’s Office has been contacted about suspicious emails circulating asking people to “confirm” their bank account information prior to the landfall of Hurricane Gustav. Caldwell warns consumers to not
open any suspicious e-mail or give out any personal information over the internet. Banks will not ask you to “confirm” your account information over the internet, they already have your information. Also, keep the following in mind when giving out personal information:

• Never provide personal or financial information in response to an unsolicited e-mail, pop-up or internet advertisement.
• Phisher e-mails are usually not personalized.
• Be suspicious of any e-mail with misspellings, typos and urgent requests for information.
• Review your credit card and bank statements as soon as you receive them. Report any unauthorized charges to your financial institution and/or credit card company.

For more information about phishing scams, please contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-351-4889 or log onto www.agbuddycaldwell.com or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.ftc.gov.