Also, you can inspect where the link is leading to. The link text can appear legit, but once you leave the mouse over the link, you should see the actual link at the bottom of the browser window. And you’ll see that it doesn’t really link to the bank’s page. Some would try to disguise this link, but some don’t even do that.

If you are ever at the actual form, also note that your browser should display a lock symbol (as part of the browser, not on the web page). The fake pages aren’t secure websites and the browser will not display the lock. I’ve also typed in fake info before, just to see how the page would respond. (Yeah, I am a computer programmer and I am naturally curious about how these things are structured.) They usually lead you to the real bank site, so you don’t suspect anything. Quite clever, but entirely possible to detect.

But it all comes down to: don’t give out your information online easily!