MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Holiday shopping and charitable donations are at your fingertips with the internet. But Michigan State University Federal Credit Union says to watch out, because phishing is prevalent this time of year.

"Phishing is an email that's sent appearing to be from a trusted retailer, business, financial institution," MSU Federal Credit Union Vice President Sarah Bohan said. "It often has a link within it that takes you to a fraudulent page and asks for your personal information."

"They look legitimate. They can take the form of legitimate companies. They can look like they have a legitimate company's graphics and logo embedded into the email," Meridian Township Police Department Fraud Investigator Greg Harris said. "Although most service providers are good at filtering out spam-type messages, fraudulent messages, some of them still get through."

The FBI recommends researching any company you are considering providing your credit card number to, calling the company before you make a purchase, and ensuring that the site is secure. One thing to look for is a padlock-icon in the address bar. This doesn't guarantee security, but it can provide some assurance.

"Continue to monitor your accounts on a regular basis," Bohan said.

And Harris said if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

"The best preventative medicine, if you will, is a dose of common sense," Harris said.

The Salavation Army is one of many legitimate charities that people can give to, especially around the holiday season, but Harris said to watch out for scammers who pose as these types of charities so your money doesn't end up in the wrong hands.

"They may have changed something in the title or changed something in the logo so it's not 100% accurate," Harris said. "So you may think you're donating to the Salvation Army when in fact it's totally not a legitimate organization."

Harris says to not be afraid to ask people to prove they are who they say they are.

"Almost everyone is going to have some type of official documentation to prove that they are a legitimate organization," Harris said.