Warning!

Your account may have been accessed by a third party.

We can't process a payment for your outstanding balance.

Maybe your account is going to be deactivated, too.

Whatever the case may be, we need you to send us a whole bunch of personal information, right away. Only if you do so can we protect you/process your payment/keep your account active.

Sound familiar?

If you have an e-mail account, I'm sure you have seen such messages, along with many variations on the infamous "Nigerian letter" or notification that you've won a lottery in a foreign country you probably didn't even know existed.

I mention this because one of my co-workers at the Deseret News has been keeping me posted on similar e-mails she has received at work recently. And it made me think that this might be a good time to remind people that e-mail scams and "phishing" schemes are alive and well — especially as you prepare to shop online or respond to pleas for charitable contributions during the holiday season.

It may seem like common sense will let you avoid such ploys, but I've heard from many computer- and finance-savvy people who have been sucked in by new variations on these old themes.

So, as a reminder, here are some tips from the Federal Trade Commission to protect yourself from phishing scams:

• If you get an e-mail or pop-up that asks for personal or financial information, don't reply, and don't click on a link in the message. Legitimate companies don't ask for this information via e-mail.

• Area codes can be misleading. Some scam e-mail seems to be from a legitimate business and asks that you call a phone number to update your account. But if the scammers use Voice Over Internet Protocol technology, the area code you are calling may not reflect where the scammers are.

• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, as well as a firewall, and update them regularly. This takes a little time, but it's worth the effort.

• Never send an e-mail with personal or financial information. It's not a secure way to transmit such data.

• Review your credit-card and bank statements as soon as you receive them. Check for unauthorized charges.

• Be careful when opening attachments or downloading files from e-mails, as they may contain computer viruses.

• Forward any possible phishing e-mail to spam@uce.gov and to the bank, company or organization being impersonated in the e-mail.