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.
One phishing scheme that you may catch onto is the official looking email supposedly from your bank or credit card company or some other financial company you may do business with. It asks you to update or modify your personal information, providing a link to take you to the site. Since it appears quite official, many people click on the link, go into the site and log in with their password, unaware that they are at a fraudulent site, not the bank or credit card site. After all, the site does appear to be the actual, official website. It's harder to spot these scamming emails for this reason. Everything looks correct. You should know, though, that most financial institutions would never request that you update your information in this manner.
Tax Refund Email Scam
The Internal Revenue Service is alerting people concerning a tax refund email scam. You get an email supposedly from the IRS saying they owe you a tax refund. You are prompted to connect to a link to see an "IRS" page. On this page, you are requested to fill in your social security number, and other information, so you can get to your account. This email is a scam and intended only to steal your identity.
IRS Does Not Use Email
As it says on the website, email is not sent to taxpayers by the IRS. It most certainly doesn't utilize it to inform you about tax refunds. The IRS will communicate with taxpayers via the mail or by phone. Don't be duped by this scam!
Other Email Scams
The email from Nigeria scam -- Obviously this is somewhat different, but the main point of the scam is an email is sent from a person who claims they are trying to transport money out of a certain country -- commonly Nigeria -- but there is trouble with taxes, crooked law officials, or other problems that require a big amount of money or stop this money from being taking out the country completely. At this point, you are asked to help. In exchange for your help, you will be offered a large portion of up to millions of dollars.
Various Types Of Bad Email
Other problematic emails are those that place a virus on your computer when you open the email attachment. Some emails will try to get you to click on a link that will cause you to download and install a virus, Trojan or other malware on your computer.
Avoiding Losses
Good sense is one of the best defenses to guard against Phishing, viruses and various email scams. What would help the most with email phishing is to make a report of any email which doesn't look correct. If you get an email from someone requesting you to do anything questionable, tell the police.
Be cautious of clicking links from people or businesses that are unsolicited. Some ways to protect yourself include updating your anti-virus software regularly, enable automatic scanning of incoming emails, and use of "live protection" while connected to the Internet. Obtain a different kind of malware obstructing software if it is not included with your anti-virus software. Windows Defender is beneficial for avoiding adware or other kinds of secret malware from attaching itself to your computer when you are not aware of it.
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.
One phishing scheme that you may catch onto is the official looking email supposedly from your bank or credit card company or some other financial company you may do business with. It asks you to update or modify your personal information, providing a link to take you to the site. Since it appears quite official, many people click on the link, go into the site and log in with their password, unaware that they are at a fraudulent site, not the bank or credit card site. After all, the site does appear to be the actual, official website. It's harder to spot these scamming emails for this reason. Everything looks correct. You should know, though, that most financial institutions would never request that you update your information in this manner.
Tax Refund Email Scam
The Internal Revenue Service is alerting people concerning a tax refund email scam. You get an email supposedly from the IRS saying they owe you a tax refund. You are prompted to connect to a link to see an "IRS" page. On this page, you are requested to fill in your social security number, and other information, so you can get to your account. This email is a scam and intended only to steal your identity.
IRS Does Not Use Email
As it says on the website, email is not sent to taxpayers by the IRS. It most certainly doesn't utilize it to inform you about tax refunds. The IRS will communicate with taxpayers via the mail or by phone. Don't be duped by this scam!
Other Email Scams
The email from Nigeria scam -- Obviously this is somewhat different, but the main point of the scam is an email is sent from a person who claims they are trying to transport money out of a certain country -- commonly Nigeria -- but there is trouble with taxes, crooked law officials, or other problems that require a big amount of money or stop this money from being taking out the country completely. At this point, you are asked to help. In exchange for your help, you will be offered a large portion of up to millions of dollars.
Various Types Of Bad Email
Other problematic emails are those that place a virus on your computer when you open the email attachment. Some emails will try to get you to click on a link that will cause you to download and install a virus, Trojan or other malware on your computer.
Avoiding Losses
Good sense is one of the best defenses to guard against Phishing, viruses and various email scams. What would help the most with email phishing is to make a report of any email which doesn't look correct. If you get an email from someone requesting you to do anything questionable, tell the police.
Be cautious of clicking links from people or businesses that are unsolicited. Some ways to protect yourself include updating your anti-virus software regularly, enable automatic scanning of incoming emails, and use of "live protection" while connected to the Internet. Obtain a different kind of malware obstructing software if it is not included with your anti-virus software. Windows Defender is beneficial for avoiding adware or other kinds of secret malware from attaching itself to your computer when you are not aware of it.
About the Author:
Stephen Grisham, Jr. is a copy writer for InfoServe Media, LLC. InfoServe Media is a Houston Website design and small business Web hosting company. They also provide domain registration, search engine optimization (SEO) and much more. Contact InfoServe Media for all your website hosting and development needs.
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