Email and Phishing Scams

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I just released a funny adult puppet video about a prize scam! Be sure to check it out below!

Email and Phishing Scams

Last year in the U.S alone, an estimated 16 million victims lost 17 billion dollars to identity theft. That’s just one type of scam. 

I’m sure if AARP, the Better Business Bureau, and other organizations intended to protect the financials security of Americans, combined all their figures from reported swindles, the final tally would be mind-blowing. 

Now with the COVID-19 pandemic creating fear and uncertainty everywhere, con artists are conjuring up new ways to squander people’s finances and personal information. 

This gives them motivation to reach out with offers too good to be true and the impersonation of government agencies to steal personal information. 

Email and phishing cons are just some of the tactics these criminals apply. Cyber attackers send thousands, if not millions of emails daily. They are not sure who get these messages; but their objective is to trick a victim into some call of action. It includes the following.

•  Clicking on a link
• Opening an attachment
• Completing a form

A harmless action can get you tangled. 

Since scammers are attempting to “phish” as many victims as possible, their messages are usually directed to “Dear Customer” or other generic greeting. 

The bad guys creates a strong sense of urgency or curiosity to the receiver. They pretend be an official organization like a bank or may impersonate a local, state, or federal agency. 

Generally, these fake senders will have grammar or spelling mistakes in the content of these email messages. Another clue to look out for is if the email originated from a personal email account such as an @gmail.com address. Also, by looking at the top left, the “From Email Address” line may appear like it generated from an official organization. But the “Reply-To-Address” is someone’s personal email account. 

Here are some other clues that should raise red flags.

• Messages requesting highly sensitive information like credit card number or password.
• You receive a message from someone you know but the tone or message does not sound like him or her. 

It is easy for a scammer to create an email that appears to be from a friend or coworker. If the message includes a clickable link, you can hover your mouse cursor over it to reveal the link’s true destination. 

Make this a common practice to confirm if you being directed to a legitimate website. Even on many mobile devices, pressing to hold the link will also show the true destination. Instead of clicking on a link, you can type the website address directly into your browser. 

Why respond directly to a suspicious email claiming to be your bank when you can use the browser? 

I wouldn’t open any attachments I wasn’t expecting. The last thing I want is opening an infected attachment and subjecting my computer to malware. Not all antivirus can detect malware. 

Take care to not expose sensitive information when using email or messaging. Email features, such as auto complete, make it easy for you to mistakenly email the wrong person. 

Once you send an email out, you cannot retract it. Also, be careful with the “Email Reply-All Feature” thread as you may not want to respond to an entire group of people who received the same email. 

Learn more about scam prevention with my use of puppets at https://shadowworldpresent.wixsite.com/safe

My Youtube channel has many more videos on cyber security awareness and scams at 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ5JPhBrP4OpCKeY4hbm5Dg

PS If you haven't already check out AARP's  Scam Tracking map at https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/tracking-map/ to checking on existing scams in your area. Vigilance is key!