What is "Pharming" and how to protect yourself

“Pharming” is the process of redirecting individuals to false websites in order to collect their personal information, which often leads to fraud and identity theft.  In order to avoid becoming a victim of a “pharming” scam, be aware that hackers have the ability to create websites that appear to be legitimate. Be wary of providing any personal information on websites with which you are unfamiliar. If anything looks out of the ordinary on a familiar website (i.e. Internet banking sites), or if you are asked to provide personal information that has not been requested by that site in the past, contact the legitimate site owner immediately.