Phishing Scams
Phishing scams basically try to get you to give up private information that the scammer can then use to his or her own advantage. Usually this includes passwords for various websites, credit card numbers, or (more rarely now) they will come out and solicit social security numbers, bank account information, and the like. Thieves then use this data to steal your money from you.
A variety of phishing email that might slip by you: A real-looking email claiming to be from your bank or credit card company or any other financial institution. The email will give you a link, ask you to click on it and update your information. The page is very convincing, and so a lot of people do click on the link and enter their log in information. It does look almost exactly like your bank’s website, after all. This is the reason it can be so difficult to detect these scam emails. Everything appears normal. Still, most banks wouldn’t ask you to update information by clicking on a link in an email.
Tax Refund Email Scam
The IRS has issued a warning about a tax refund email scam. You get an email allegedly from the IRS saying you are due a tax refund. You are told to click on a link to the “IRS” website. On this page, they request your social security number and other personal information, so you can gain access to your account. The email is a scam and it was created to steal your personal information.
The IRS Does Not Send Emails
According to their website, the IRS does not contact taxpayers through email. They don’t use email to discuss your tax refund. The only approved forms of communication between taxpayers and the IRS are by telephone or via the US Postal Service. Avoid falling for this scam.
Other Email Scams
There are other email scams, like one called the “Nigerian” scam. Of course this varies sometimes, but the purpose of the scam is that the con artist sends an email purporting to be from somebody who alleges that they are trying to take money out of a foreign country — typically Nigeria — but the obstacles are taxes, corrupt authorities, or various roadblocks that demand money or prevent the money from being taken out of the country totally. And this is where they supposedly ask for your help. This person promises you a large part of millions of dollars as a prize for your help.
Various Kinds Of Bad Email
Other kinds of bad emails are attachments that are loaded with viruses. Or emails that tempt you to click a link where a Trojan horse, virus or additional malware is put on your computer.
Avoiding Losses
Using common sense is the best way to avoid Phishing, viruses, and other email scams.
Unless you specifically joined the sender’s mailing list, be very cautious about clicking any links in emails. Keep your anti-virus protection current all the time, keep it set to scan emails that are coming in, and stay protected when you are surfing. If you don’t have it already, install malware blocking software on your computer. A good product for guarding against malware installing itself without your knowledge is Windows Defender.
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