Tips on Dealing with E-mail
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
How do you protect yourself from bad things that arrive in your email? With all the stories you hear, how do you know what to open and what to just delete? Here is some straightforward thinking that is going to help you stay safe. Read through these scenarios and learn the key behaviors you need to make habits of, and others you need to let go of.
Remember: The most effective way to get onto someone’s computer is simply to ask. In other words, someone gets to you and asks for help: their story is compelling; their need is great; you are a good, compassionate, person: so you help. This is the heart of the problem. It is called a “social engineering” hack. The human in the weakest link. The bad guys count on you being an unwitting participant in the scam. Like I said above: "the easiest way into your computer is to simply ask."
BEWARE OF SAD TIDINGS
You look at your email and see a subject line that says: "Need help finding missing child". You do not know who the email is from yet you open it. How can you not be moved by a parent looking for their lost child? The mail is simple; it tells the story of a lost 6-year-old girl and her desperate mother. All it asks is that you go to their website and that you pass the email on to your friends. You cry real tears and pass on the mail. You go to the website and read a heart-wrenching story. All they ask is a donation to help in the search for this child. You give them a 5 dollar donation: after all, it's only five dollars.
Did you use a credit card for the donation? Guess what? Now they have your credit card number and enough information to steal your good name. Did you send them a check? Now, they know your name, address, and checking account number. Your good name is now theirs.
STOP AND RESEARCH
Before you gave your help, did you check with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children? Did you put the subject of the e-mail into Google or Yahoo to see what comes up? You would have probably found out that it was a scam.
Think about it this way, whenever you get approached to be helpful, whether in an email, on the phone, or in person, always confirm the truth of the story. Do not accept things at face value. Just because your best friend or aunt or cousin sends you this email about the dying children or the' lost boys', or the family whose house burned down, does not mean it is true. Your friends and loved ones are just as likely to be misled as anyone else.
THESE ARE THE NEW BEHAVIORS YOU NEED TO ADOPT:
- NEVER open an attachment from a stranger even if it promises you eternal love or boundless riches. DO NOT OPEN IT!!!!
- NEVER send financial, bank account, credit card or any other sensitive information in email. NEVER!!!!! No reputable organization or business will ask for this in an email.
- DELETE IT. If you get a email that looks like it is from your phone company, internet provider, Amazon, eBay, or any other institution you know, and it asks to confirm your account information or password, or to update your credit card data: DELETE IT!!!
Send that company an email, or better yet: call them on the phone and ask "Did you send me an email asking for my information?" They will invariably tell you: "We never send out emails like that."
Remember that sending email is like sending a letter in a transparent envelope. It is by its very nature completely insecure and anybody along the route can open it and read it and leave no trace of the intrusion. Think also about this: I can print up a letter saying just about anything I want, put it in a fancy envelope to mail to you: How do you know the truth of it?
- RESEARCH. If you get an email that tells a truly compelling story, and you absolutely feel moved by it, research it. Before you forward the email or respond to it, go to websites like the ones below, and search. Find out if the email you are reading is real or a hoax.
- Your most powerful tool is to be skeptical, and informed. You must act as if every email is a threat.
- Just because the button says "Click Here to Win!" does not mean you have to. If you clicked the link I have two things to tell you: 1) You failed the test 😒 2) You ended up at a page that read a lot of information about your computer. Luckily this is not a dangerous website. BUT it demonstrates how easy it is to get information from you. A malicious web site could have gotten a lot more information.
- STOP! THINK!
No one gives away something for nothing!
No one wins a lottery they never entered!
No legitimate business will solicit your personal information in email!
Your best friend can be as easily fooled as you.
Just because they sent it does not make it safe!
No honest person will ask you for $1000 so they can get a million out of their dead uncle’s bank! - STOP! THINK!
So next time you are going through your email (every time!) keep the above ideas in mind.
Stay safe online!
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