Today I received an email from a family member which included an email from a third party. They were trying to tell my family member that she is over her email allotment and to fix it to click on the link bellow and enter in her email id and password and all will be fixed. The ironic ting is I host this family member’s email account via my web hosting provider. The 2nd alert was it was an unknown email address. My response was to ignore it this is an email scam.
This is the 5th question I have had about unsolicited emails this week. I thought I would take some time and make some suggestions on how you can protect yourself from Email scams.
The first thing you can do is all the normal security things you should do on your computer. This means install an Antivirus program and keep it up to date. Run a weekly scan of your entire computer to make sure you are virus free. Install a spyware protection program and run weekly scans to avoid spyware on your computer. Also do your operating system security updates and application program security updates whenever they are required. These will help plug any holes in your operating system and programs.
If you are ruining a Windows based operating system do not use Microsoft Outlook for email if at all possible. If you need to connect to an exchange server, use Outlook but for all other people, use another desktop client or stick to a web based client. Microsoft Outlook is vulnerable to many visual basic based viruses and exploits.
Their is also a large human element to all the Virus schemes. Rule number one is to learn to not be so trusting. As you read further you will understand that this is the golden rule to protect yourself from email schemes. Now that I have your attention, please keep reading and you will see why.
When looking at email’s and you do recognize who it is from do not open it. It is very that simple.
If you do open the email and the email asks you to click on a link and login with your id and password do not ever do this. Reputable companies will never ask for a client’s id and password. Not Paypal, Ebay, Google or your bank. This is how they scam you. The link redirects you to an offshore page that looks like Google or even your bank. You, the trusting user enters their information and the stammer now has your id and password for their use.
Do not click on links in email. I also cut and paste my ling directly into my web browser. This way it is harder to disguise what looks like a legitimate link. Copying and pasting the link means the sender can not embed hidden charters behind the actual link.
Change your email password on a regular basis. This will help maintain more control and security on your account.
You should also set up what I call a throw away email account. Use a free service like Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail and sign up for a free account. Use this account whenever you are signing up for free stuff online, surveys or a non trusted web site. This way your main account will never be compromised.
If you follow the above steps, you will protect yourself from email scams. What do you do to protect yourself from email scams?
