Password Scams

There are two common methods used to trick users into revealing their passwords: impersonation and social engineering.

Impersonation

Impersonated Web Pages

You can find web pages that exist for the sole purpose of collecting user IDs and passwords. These pages mimic sign-in screens for various sites, and are sometimes referred to as "spoof" or "password phishing" pages.

Do not enter your Rent Bend or password on any web page unless you are on the Rent Bend network and your intent was to visit a Rent Bend sign-in page that requires you to be signed in.

If you aren't sure you are on Rent Bend, go to the Rent Bend home page by typing "www.rentbend.com" in the Address box.

Impersonated Emails

You may receive an email from someone claiming to be a Rent Bend employee who asks for your password for any number of reasons -- to help recover your account, prevent your account from being deleted, or identify your account are a few or the more popular scams. The person may ask you to reply with your password or may direct you to a fake sign-in screen. These are scams. Please forward the email to mail-spoof@rentbend.com. Include the full email headers and the HTML source code of the email you received.

If you are directed to a web page by an email, make sure the web page is in the Rent Bend network, as mentioned above.

Social Engineering

"Social Engineering" is a term that describes non-technical methods used to gain access to accounts, passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, names, addresses or other personally identifying and confidential information. These methods are mostly based on human interactions and, specific to your Rent Bend account, can be separated into two types.

Con Games

In a con game, the social engineer will try to convince you to share your password. They may impersonate Rent Bend (as mentioned above), claim to be with law enforcement or someone else of authority, or they may befriend you to gain your confidence and offer to help solve problems you may be having with your account.

• Never share your password. Your password is confidential and should not be given to anyone.
• Most online services, including Rent Bend, hold you responsible if you do not properly safeguard your password and your account is used by another person. If you lose a password from another company or online service, you may have that company email your password to you.

Victim Knowledge

A social engineer may also use information they know about you to guess your password or use our password lookup utility to gain access to your account.

• To reduce the chance of someone guessing your password, choose your password wisely. Read "Choosing your password" for more information.
• Be careful about what you post publicly and with whom you share personal information. Social engineers may take months to gain your trust, get to know you better, and gather information about you.

Such scams are not targeted only at Rent Bend members. The more popular an Internet service, the more likely fake log-in pages have been set up to collect IDs and passwords. Only give your ID or password when you know you're on a legitimate and trusted web site.

Reporting Password Scams

• Email: If you receive an email impersonating Rent Bend, please forward the email to mail-spoof@rentbend.com. Include the full headers and the HTML source code of the email you received.
• Web page: If you see a web page asking for your Rent Bend ID and password and you feel it is a scam, please report it using our contact form. Include the full URL of the web page collecting passwords.

If you have already been tricked into giving your password, please use the contact form and supply as much detail as possible.

If you entered credit card or bank account numbers, you should immediately contact your financial institution.

If you feel your life is in danger, call your local police department immediately.