E is for Escaping
Email Scams
Crooks invade cyberspace and scam through emails. OK, that's
not a news flash. But the latest kicker is this: email scammers mimic genuine,
reputable, and familiar senders. Unfortunately, far too many folks are falling
for these pickpocket ploys.
Here's how the email
scam works.
Suppose you sign in to check your emails, and you find a
notice that looks to be from your bank (say, Chase or Morgan). Or you see one
sent from "PayPal," "Amazon," "AOL," or even
"BubbleWS." (Fellow writer Sandra Kupper Hoffman, who also produces content for Yahoo, received a message that falsely claimed to be from them. You can read her story here.) Maybe the message says your account has been compromised,
or your password needs to be changed for security purposes.
Don't click that
link!
Clicking the link may invite spyware or malware into your
system. It may direct you to a computer-crashing site. Or it may send you to a
log-in form, asking for your screen names, passwords, and confidential
information.
Don’t do it.
Follow these steps
instead.
1. Click on the sender's email at the top of the message, if
your email has such a capability. This displays the actual email address. Look
closely at the sender’s email address. Does it look legitimate, or does it
contain extra characters? Sometimes scam emails that claim to be real companies
are revealed to be something like user98345@familiarprovider.com or another
generic, but certainly not official, sender.
2. Use your cursor to copy the sender’s email address. Open
a new internet browser window, and paste the email address into the search bar.
You may be surprised to find scam reports.
3. Next, read the email address carefully. Do you notice any
glaring errors in language or grammar? Email scams (like comment spam) may be
computer-generated. Odd-sounding phrasings can be a sure tip-off.
4. Finally, copy the http link provided in the email. Again, do
not click the link. Hover your cursor over the link, and it should appear on
the screen. Or right-click, and choose the copy option. Paste the link into the
search bar on your computer browser (ideally, in another window), and see what
results pop up.
5. Do not reply to an unsolicited, suspicious, or scam
email. This action often puts unwitting folks on a primo promo list, inviting
additional inquiries.
Generally, unexpected
emails warrant extra scrutiny, even if they seem to come from recognized
sources.
If you receive an email reply from a specific request you
have recently made, then an email may be genuine. Otherwise, it’s always wise
to check it out before clicking or responding.
If possible, report email scams and malicious messages to
your internet service provider for follow-up and potential prosecution.
Don’t be scammed by
unexpected emails.
mage/s:
Pickpockets
From: “Everybody Does It,” by Alpert Levering
For Puck
Early 20th Century
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