 If
you’re somewhat new to the 'net' or to computers in general, these
three tips could help protect you from identity theft, credit
card fraud, or a complete computer takeover – all of which can
happen without you even knowing about it!
1. Scrutinize Your Messages – Don’t ever respond to messages
claiming to be from your bank, credit card company, or other financial
institution, which ask for personally identifiable information
such as card or account numbers, passwords, or other private information
– even if the e-mail looks to have come from the actual company.
It may be a hoax designed to get you to unknowingly part with
crucial financial or private contact information, leaving you
vulnerable to credit card fraud, identity theft or credit card
theft. Contact the institution or company that claims to be sending
the e-mail and verify the contents of the message with them. Chances
are – they never sent it. Only use the number on your statement
though, and not the number that appears in the e-mail message.
It may direct you right to the scammer, who will do everything
they can to assure you that it is safe to reply to their message!
2. If it’s From a Friend, it must be SAFE, Right? – It’s
logical to assume that a message from your friend or colleague
is safe, but that isn’t always the case! If you receive an email
from a friend or colleague which contains an attachment (could
be a media clip, a screensaver, a picture or anything else), call
them up to check and see if they really did send it. Many viruses
and worms can hijack your computer and blast out a virus-ridden
email to everyone in your address book, making it appear that
it came from you and therefore, making it appear trustworthy.
3. Read Your Messages in Plain Text – Some e-mails written
in HTML (the coding language that makes up many web pages) can
be harmless. Others can contain malicious code that can hijack
your e-mail program, browser, or your entire computer – and send
your personal and financial information out to a hacker or scammer
without you even knowing about it! Stay safe by setting your e-mail
program to only show messages in plain text format (often in the
options or settings section of the software). This will prevent
threatening code from installing itself and compromising your
system and private information.
Possibly one of the best ways to protect your e-mail is simply
by exercising common sense. The Internet is a lot like a crowded
plaza. Would your banker or credit card lender walk out into the
middle of the throng of people and shout out to you to ask for
your account information? Would you tell him where everyone could
hear? Definitely not! The same caution should be exercised when
checking your e-mail. These tips can help you stop scammers dead
in their tracks while keeping you from becoming another victim
of fraud or theft.
Page Mini Glossary
Computerized virus or trojan, means small programs able to change
or clone itself and self send in order to damage or make a network
or a single machine vulnerable.
Spamming means the indiscriminate sending of email and/or newsletter
messages, without the consent of the receiver.
According to the definition in "Wikipedia" the word Phishing is
the capture of personal information, like passwords, personal
information, the hacker hiding himself as a trustworthy person
with a real need for that information. It is a form of "Social
Engineering".
Social Engineering is the most simple and reliable means of obtaining
information that you could not learn otherwise for example username
and password or even your personal data (address, telephone number,
etc).
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