Great advice from a local business:
- Be suspicious of any email that requires “immediate action” or creates a sense of urgency. This is a common technique used by criminals to rush people into making a mistake.
- Be suspicious of emails addressed to “Dear Customer” or some other generic salutation. If it is your bank, they will know your name.
- Be suspicious of grammar or spelling mistakes; most businesses proofread their messages carefully before sending them.
- Do not click on links. Instead, copy the URL from the email and paste it into your browser. Even better is to simply type the destination name into your browser.
- Hover your mouse over the link. This will show you the true destination where you would go if you actually clicked on it. If the true destination of the link is different than what is shown in the email, this may be an indication of fraud.
- Be suspicious of attachments, and only open those that you are expecting.
- Just because you got an email from your friend does not mean they sent it. Your friend’s computer may have been infected or their account may have been compromised, and malware is sending the email to all of your friend’s contacts.
- If you get a suspicious email from a trusted friend or colleague, call them to confirm that they sent it. Always use a telephone number that you already know or can independently verify, not one that was included in the message.
I’ve mentioned most of these in various other posts, but this was an excellent summary that deserved to be shared. Be careful out there.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
