No matter how many laws are passed and no matter how hard government agencies work to keep up with fraud, the evil-doers continue to devise increasingly numerous and even more sophisticated ways to rob us. With more and more people turning to the Internet, predators follow. And as the technology of fraud becomes more complex and covert, our homes and offices are at heightened risk.

Internet scammers casting about for people’s financial information have a new way to lure unsuspecting victims: They go “phishing.” Phishing, also called “carding,” is a high-tech scam that uses “spam” e-mail to deceive consumers into disclosing their credit card numbers, bank account information, Social Security numbers, passwords and other sensitive information.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, the e-mails pretend to be from businesses the potential victims deal with, such as their Internet service provider, online payment service or bank. The fraudsters tell recipients that they need to “update” or “validate” their billing information to keep their accounts active, and direct them to a “lookalike” Web site of the legitimate business, further tricking consumers into thinking they are responding to a bona fide request. Unknowingly, consumers submit their financial information – not to the businesses – but the scammers, who use it to order goods and services and obtain credit.

To avoid getting caught by one of these scams, the Federal Trade Commission offers this guidance:

If you get an e-mail that warns you, with little or no notice, that an account of yours will be shut down unless you reconfirm your billing information, do not reply or click on the link in the e-mail. Instead, contact the company cited in the e-mail using a telephone number or Web site address you know to be genuine.

Avoid e-mailing personal and financial information. Before submitting financial information through a Web site, look for the “lock” icon on the browser’s status bar. It signals that your information is secure during transmission.

Review credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to determine whether there are any unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call your credit card company or bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.

Report suspicious activity to the FTC. Send the actual spam to uce@ftc.gov. If you believe you’ve been scammed, file your complaint at www.ftc.gov, and then visit the FTC’s Identity Theft Web site (www.ftc.gov/idtheft) to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from identity theft. Visit www.ftc.gov/spam to learn other ways to avoid e-mail scams and deal with deceptive spam.

Turning to angling of a different sort, summer is almost over, the kids are back in school, and most of us have packed away the sun block and beach chairs. It’s a good time to start thinking about how to use some of those free hours. COMBAT’s Maine Center for the Public Interest is gearing up for the usual fall increase in requests from consumers and merchants who need information and assistance. We are beginning our fall round of recruitment and training … and fishing for volunteers.

Opportunities include: dispute mediation (we will train), research (online and off), clerical, article writing, grant research and preparation, database management, membership recruitment (individuals and business), Web site management, public relations and media coordination, and more. If you have some time to help your neighbors and live within driving distance of our Bangor office, call 947-3331 (mailbox 2) or mail volunteer@consumerprotect.org for information.

Consumer Forum is a collaboration of the Bangor Daily News and Northeast COMBAT-Maine Center for the Public Interest, Maine’s membership-funded nonprofit consumer organization. Individual membership $25, business rates start at $125 (1-10 employees). For help and information write: Consumer Forum, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor 04402-1329.