A new scam spreading on the Internet is trickier than most phishing scams. The scam starts with a phony e-mail purporting to come from Hallmark (or other e-card services like Blue Mountain) and asking you to download an attachment in order to pick up an e-card. The attachment is not an e-card; it is a Trojan horse.

If you download the attachment, the Trojan horse will wait for you to sign on to AOL. When you do, it will present a pop-up that resembles an AOL form and asks you to verify/update your AOL billing information and provide credit card, checking and Social Security numbers. Both the Hallmark e-mail and the pop-up are part of this scam -- neither one comes from Hallmark or AOL. For more on Trojans, see What's the difference between viruses, worms and Trojans?

1. AOL will never ask for your password, billing information or other personal information in an e-mail, instant message or pop-up window. When in doubt, sign on to AOL and go to AOL Keyword: Billing to check your account status.

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2. Legitimate Hallmark e-card notifications are never sent with attachments. If you receive an e-mail from Hallmark with an attachment, it is a scam. Report the e-mail to AOL by clicking the Report Spam button on the e-mail message. 3. Hallmark e-cards will come from orders@hallmark.com or from the address of the person sending you the e-card. Real Hallmark e-card notifications will contain the retrieval number of the card being sent to you. When in doubt, go to Hallmark's Web site by typing www.hallmark.com into your AOL or Web browser and then enter your e-mail address and retrieval number to pick up your e-card.

What to do if you believe you've received a Hallmark/AOL e-card scam:
-- Do not download attachments that appear to come from Hallmark.
-- MANUALLY type www.hallmark.com into your AOL or Web browser to make sure you are on the real Hallmark site, then enter your e-mail address and retrieval number to pick up your e-card.
-- Click Report Spam to report the mail to AOL.
-- Do not provide financial or account information in an e-mail, instant message or pop-up window.
-- Be sure you are running up-to-date anti-virus software. AOL offers free anti-virus software at AOL Keyword: Virus.
-- Go to AOL Keyword: Spyware and install AOL Spyware Protection, if you have not already. Once you have installed AOL Spyware Protection, click Run Now to run a scan of your computer and remove possible spyware.

For more information, see How to Avoid Phishing Scams.