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What is Phishing?
"Phishing" is a malicious act done by those wanting to gain unlawful access to your account, or any other sensitive information such as your email address. They do this by masquerading as a trustworthy entity -- often pretending to be IMVU itself.
How do I get Phished?
Phishing links pop up in chat rooms and in pulse. Phishers usually promise something in return for going to a site and providing your account info -- free credits, VIP, or other upgrades. There are also scams where you are asked to "verify" your account details for any reason. These usually threaten to have your account disabled if you do not comply. Sometimes, someone pretending to be Staff enters a room and asks you to log in at a seemingly legitimate IMVU site (or, they can simply ask you for your information outright).
But while you are waiting for the promised credits/upgrades/verification, these phishers are hacking your account with the account info you willingly provided.
How NOT to get Phished
STEP 1: Whenever logging into IMVU, always check that your address bar shows the following:
IMVU Original Login Page
or
Sometimes, phishers will clone the IMVU site so they can capture your username and password. Below are two examples:
STEP 2: Never log into sites that ask for your IMVU username or password. This is very common in "credit generators".
STEP 3: Speaking of credit generators -- THEY DO NOT EXIST! There's no exception. You may find some "generators" (like the one pictured below) that ask only for your avatar name. They then lead you to a survey to as an "anti-spam feature", then ultimately to a fake IMVU site. Again, avoid these scams at all costs.
STEP 4: NEVER reveal your password to ANYONE. Staff will never ask for your password, for any reason. Also, remember that sharing accounts is a violation of our Terms of Service. Keeping your sensitive account information safe is primarily your responsibility -- this also extends to e-mail addresses, which hackers and phishers can use to obtain your IMVU information.
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