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There are so many new words today it is almost impossible to keep up with the English language. Words like blogging and webinars are not even recognized by some of the personal desktop office programs. One of the key words on the Internet and in politics today is phishing.

Phishing is a term used when someone tries to gain sensitive information by posing as a legitimate entity. In other words you may get an e-mail letting you know your account is suspended until further notice. The e-mail then directs you to log onto the site with the enclosed link. The link will take you to a fake web site. This site may look identical to the real one. The only difference is when you enter your personal information, it is collected so it can be used for fraudulent or criminal purposes.

No matter where you are and what you are doing on the Internet, there is someone always one step behind trying to cash in on it. Whether this is illegal or not, is not their concern. As long as they are making money they are happy. If it happens to be your money, they do not care.

With so many political sites taking donations, the fraudsters are opening for business. One of the first reported political phishing sites was in 2004. The supporters of John Kerry received e-mails asking for donations. The fraudulent e-mail redirected the recipients to a political phishing site designed to look like the official John Kerry web site. The reasoning behind this political phishing site was purely monetary. There was no political motive what so ever.

The time has come again for politicians to start asking for donations. If the public is not made aware of these political phishing sites, the would-be supporters could be the victims of fraud. The above scam happened right after the Democratic National Convention. There is no time frame for those wanting to commit fraud on the unsuspecting voters. Political phishing sites can pop up at any time during the campaigning.

There are certain precautions a person can take to avoid being taken advantage of. The first thing is to pay close attention to the e-mails you receive. If you happen to get one asking for a donation to a particular candidate or cause, check to see where it is directing you. The John Kerry phishing site was directing voters to a .(dot) org site instead of the .(dot) com site.

Some political phishing sites are so sophisticated the only difference might be the web address starts with https instead of the "http://www". When you log onto your favorite candidate's web site or blog check to see how it appears in the address bar of your browser. When you decide to make a donation because of an e-mail drive he or she has started, you will know which address to look for during the re-direct.

When you do come across a political phishing site report it immediately. The http://www.US-cert.gov web site is part of homeland security and responds to political phishing sites quickly. Do not allow yourself to become a victim when you are trying to support your candidate or cause.