Phishing is a relatively new term that has roots in its homophone water sport, in that it means one is looking for something that’s not readily available. But as opposed to looking for fish, it is searching online for data: yours.

Those phishing for your information are not phooling around. Unlike its fun counterpart, phishing is not a leisure sport. It’s a full-time business. It employs professional thieves stalking you on the Internet.

The most common phishing trap you could fall for is the e-mail scam. You might get something in your inbox that appears to be from your bank, utility, retailer or credit card company. The ploy is to get you to refresh or confirm your personal information because your account is supposedly being updated or is about to be closed. It preys on your fears and hopes that in your moment of anxiety, you’ll cooperate.

Upon close scrutiny, you can usually tell that these are fraudulent e-mails, but most people are trusting by nature and are tricked into believing they are legitimate. Usually you will not be addressed by your name, but as Client, Patron or Card Holder. The threat may be somewhat vague, yet specific enough to get your attention.

Other e-mails may include a link for you to click on. This will take you to the phisher’s Web site, which may look like those that you do business with, but is not. It will include a blank form with an official-looking header of that company. Any information you type in is then given to the thief, whether it be your account number, password, Social Security number or pin code.

Again, scrutiny will be the tell-all. Look carefully at the web address. It may have your bank’s name in it, but instead of being "www.your-bank.com," it may read something like "www.ag.accounts.your-bank.com."

A good way to tell if a link is legitimate is to hover your mouse over the link. The true destination will appear either in a pop-up or in the browser’s status bar at the bottom of the page.

Alternatively, you may receive an official sounding phone call asking for the same information.

They will be friendly, yet assertive, requesting your personal information. If you didn’t call them, hang up. I guarantee if you ask them for a call-back number, they will hang up on you.

Your bank will tell you that they would never contact you this way. Be aware; be careful; be suspicious. There is a lot at stake: your money or even your identity. If in doubt, call or go to your bank or institution in question.

As always, your best offense is a good defense. Have the proper tools in place and the knowledge of what to do to protect yourself.

Get and use good anti-virus, anti-spam and anti-phishing utilities for your computer and be sure your firewall is in place.

Many companies now have either free downloadable utilities or offer free scans from their Web site. Check out what McAfee has to offer at http://home.mcafee.com/Downloads/FreeScanDownload.aspx?affid=0; McAfee also has a free Site Advisor available that will let you know if the site you are on is legitimate or not.

See what Symantec has at http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/WelcomePage.asp or look at AVG’s LinkScanner at http://linkscanner.avg.com.

Comodo has recently released a new, free utility, Comodo Internet Security, to assist in keeping your system free of malware. It includes a firewall with anti-virus and even comes with a 30 day free trial of LivePCSupport. Download it from their website at http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewall.html.

Any of these companies also offer full version utilities with more bells and whistles, for a price.

Visit www.staysafeonline.org for some good information including a list of more web sites that will give your system a security scan for free. Here’s a list to help you get started:

Know who you’re dealing with online.

Never click on links in unknown e-mails.

Keep your Web browser and operating system up to date.

Back up important files.

Protect your children online.

Use security software.

Use strong passwords and change them regularly.

Use strong authentication technology.

Don’t use public computers to do your online banking or bill paying.

Learn what to do if something goes wrong.

Other good online resources are www.onguardonline.gov and www.fraud.org.

If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft website at www.consumer.gov/idtheft.

Computers are great tools and the Internet is an incredible resource. To think about what the two of them together can accomplish is astounding. But if you’re not careful, you may get caught in someone’s phishing expedition.

Keep your eyes open and be aware of your surroundings as if you were in a bad part of town. These guys don’t phish or cut bait as those in a boat do. They are relentless. Just because the Internet is a virtual place, doesn’t mean you can’t really get ripped off. You can.

It’s virtually the same.