Have you ever read an article about identity theft and thought, 'it couldn't happen to me! I am far too vigilant with my financial information'? Unfortunately, identity theft can happen to you and a Canadian police officer can prove it.

According to an article on the CBC's website, a Newfoundland based RCMP officer fell victim to a phishing scheme. He moved to St. John's and promptly accessed his Paypal account to change his address and other important information. A few days later, he receive an official looking email that asked him to verify the changes he had made. He followed the link to an equally official looking Paypal site.

As I am sure you have guessed, the Paypal site was not official - Constable Jim Roberts fell victim to a phishing scheme. When he checked his email the next day, he discovered that roughly $500 had been stolen from his account. Tragic, isn't it?

What is even more tragic is the fact that thousands upon thousands of people are victimized by phishing scams every year. Personally, I shut down my previous company's eBay account because I was getting an average of twenty to thirty phishing emails every single day. I got to pay to list my items and get attacked by thieves for the privilege.

I am going to write more about phishing soon, but, in case you don't know, phishing is a very common tool used by thieves to steal your identity. The scams traditionally start with a very official looking email from a bank, or other financial institution. This email generally asks you to verify your account details, though more fiendish ones alert you to 'suspicious activity' in your account. They have a link to a site that looks absolutely identical to the institution's official site. The links almost always look legitimate.

I will have more information on how to protect yourself from phishing scams in another article, but for now, I would like to leave you with one piece of advice. Never, ever click on a link that a business sends you - no matter how legitimate the link looks. If you receive an email that asks you to 'verify your account details' or that warns you about 'suspicious activity', take a few minutes, locate an official phone number for the institution and give them a call. Trust me, it is better to be vigilant than a victim.