Wisconsin anglers look forward to the first day of fishing season in May, but this spring also is bringing an outbreak in "phishing."

Phishing, in which consumers are conned into providing their account information after they receive a fraudulent e-mail that appears to be from their financial institution or online merchandise outlet, continues to grow as a problem.

Recent widespread scams appear to come from Chase Bank, Bank of America, eBay, PayPal and Wells Fargo Bank, but they instead are intended to steal consumers' identities, according to a phishing monitoring service at www.antiphishing.org. The service reported that the number of unique phishing reports it received in January rose to a record 17,877.

Wisconsin banks, including M&I Bank and Associated Bank, also have been featured in phishing e-mails, according to the monitoring service.

The security department at Anchor Bank's headquarters in Madison receives a call "every day" from an unwitting customer conned into handing over financial information in a phony e-mail.

David Oldenburg, AnchorBank's security coordinator said, "They're surprised to find out that computer-savvy criminals obtained their personal financial information from them so easily. It's not difficult to see why people are fooled. Although some phishing e-mails appear to be written poorly, many can be very professional looking."

Oldenburg said the phishing e-mails are becoming more sophisticated and enticing.

"Criminals will send out a mass e-mail, claiming to be from a valid financial or eCommerce business, often using a stolen logo," he said. "They use fear tactics and narrow time frames to lure the victim into visiting a fake Web site. Once the victims are on the site, they're told to login to their account and enter sensitive financial information."

Bank officials say they never send unsolicited e-mails to customers. Customers should never respond to e-mails requesting PIN numbers, Social Security numbers or other personal information, Oldenburg said.

"No matter how authentic it may look – it's not from us," Oldenburg said. "We would never ask for that information electronically."

To file a complaint or to obtain additional information on consumer issues, visit www.ftc.gov or call 1-877-382-4357.

The options for prosecutors to charge criminals who commit crimes against Wisconsin financial institutions will triple and fines will double under a new law that was signed into law Monday.

The Wisconsin Bankers Association lobbied for the new law, which creates a new subchapter of property crimes against financial institutions. With the changes, such crimes can be considered a Class E felonies, with fines of up to $50,000 and prison sentences of up to 15 years.

Assembly Bill 986, also known as the financial crimes legislation, will provide more options for prosecutors, said Kurt Bauer, president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

"This new law will also add clarity to the current law and act as a strong deterrent to criminals who commit crimes against financial institutions," Bauer said.