This new "phishing" style scam works extremely well for 2 basic reasons.

First, by exploiting your sense of urgency created by fear or greed, crooks get you to click link and give them your information without thinking.

Second, scammers use a variety of cloaking and spoofing techniques to make their emails and websites appear totally legitimate, making it extremely hard to spot a fake website, especially when they've first whipped you into an emotional frenzy.

The good news, however, is that you can protect yourself relatively easily against this type of cyber-crime with basic software and common sense.

Most of these scams get delivered to you via Spam (unsolicited email), so a good spam blocker will cut down on many of them even making it to your inbox.

If you receive an email that looks legitimate and you want to respond, Stop - Wait - Think!

Verify all phone numbers with a physical phone book or online phone directory like www.Verizon.com or www.ATT.com/directory/ before calling.

Look for spelling and grammatical errors that make it look like someone who doesn't speak English or your native language very well wrote it.

Never click link provided in email, but go directly to website by typing in main address of site yourself (example: www.paypal.com or www.ebay.com).

Forward email to main email address of website (example: support@paypal.com) or call customer service number on main website you typed in yourself and ask if it is in fact legitimate.

Above all remember this:

Your bank, credit card company, PayPal, eBay and anyone else you deal with online already knows your account number, username, password or any other account specific information.

They don't need to email you for ANY reason to ask you to confirm your information -- so NEVER respond to email requests for your account or personal details.

Consumer tips on cramming There are some simple tips consumers can follow to avoid being “crammed.”

Carefully read fine print before filling out contest forms or coupons. You may be agreeing to new telephone services.

Review your telephone bill each month. Look for company names you do not recognize, charges for calls you did not make and charges for services you did not authorize. The FCC requires any changes of service to be “clearly and conspicuously” indicated on telephone bills.

Educate children and other individuals who make calls from your telephone about charges for calls placed to information and entertainment services.

Allow others to use your telephone only for calls and services you authorize.

Keep a record of telephone services you have authorized and used, such as information services. These resources can be helpful when billing descriptions are unclear.

If you have been crammed If you find charges on your telephone bill which you cannot account for, contact your telephone service provider and ask that charges be removed.