If there's any benefit to getting a lot of spam e-mail, it's that I get to also see some of the phishing attempts to get people to give up their personal information. One that has really hit my inbox over the past couple of days involves Facebook.

Fake Facebook login page.

I've received several copies of e-mails that claim "Facebook will be implementing a new login system that will affect all Facebook users... Before you are able to use the new login system, you will be required to update your account."

The e-mail gives you a convenient link that seems to link to Facebook. But in the ten e-mails I've got, a closer look reveals the link actually wants to send me to a page with a .uk or .eu domain, not facebook.com.

Here's a big clue in determining whether e-mails like this are legit. Had this been an actual message from Facebook, it would have had my name on it, not simply "Dear Facebook user". They know my first name and who I am. Spammers don't.

Besides, logging in to change your login doesn't make a whole lot of sense, does it.

My other hot spams recently include:

1) Fake Microsoft e-mails that claim to allow me to download "critical" updates to Outlook. Too bad for the spammers I don't use Outlook. Ignore the e-mails and check Windows Update to find any real and necessary updates to your PC.

2) "Notice of Underreported Income" claims to come from the IRS. The links that indicate they will allow me to "review tax statement for taxpayer id: jeff-00000867938104US" goes to some other web site, not IRS.gov. As the agency says on its site, "The IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail."

3) An "FDIC alert" claims that I need to check your bank deposit insurance coverage. Once again, the e-mail doesn't use my real name, and the link provided that says it's for the FDIC web site really goes to European domains. If you get one send it right to the recycle bin. The FDIC has posted a warning about this spam.