Online scammers are getting smarter. Graphic design is becoming so popular that thieves are learning quickly about codes, design set up, and marketing tactics. Here’s how they do it and find out how to combat it.
Most of us aren’t as high tech versed experts to understand IPs, VOIPs, VPNs, ISBs, HTTPs, encryption and so on but we’d like to know in common English terms some steps we can do ourselves to be careful online. It takes more than relying on a virus software program, firewall, or cleaning the hard drive to stay secure online.
Coming from some experience working online, e-commerce, and marketing following are some self-applied tips, research, and time that hackers hope you don’t have or do.
1. Be cautious to open a suspicious email that says:
· If the subject line is too generic.
· Does not address you by your name.
· Has typos.
· Uses scare tactics -Act now or else or one of your friends says...
· Misspells your name.
· From someone you don't know.
· Doesn’t show any name besides the email address.
· Is from a business you've never done business with.
2. Be wary of getting emails from email addresses that contain:
· Mostly numbers or combine letters and numbers
· From free email domain accounts like @yahoo.com,@aol.com,@gmail.com,or @hotmail.com
Progressively, many of these free email offering companies are becoming more aggressive with spam filtering. Paid subscriptions such as company emails or Internet providers usually offer added security as part of their paid package.
3. Ads on free online classified sites:
· Fake ads are being used to lure email correspondences.
· Not enough information is provided.
Scammers post ads posing as a legitimate offer to get a reply. They prey on people's vulnerability and collect email addresses or personal information. Some may hook you in with a question to see if you'll reply back, then they reply back with another email with a suspicious link or even pass on or sell your email.
4. Be careful of emails that look like it’s from a company:
· Look alike sites.
· Emails that look like it’s from the company.
Such as (only used as examples):
· (name of your bank)admin@yahoo.com
· (customerservice or admin)@bestbuys.com (look alike site may be
www.bestbuys.com)
Don't be so quick to click on a link in a suspicious email. Especially if they don't tell you what it is or entice you with questions like:
- Can't believe this is you
- Is this you
- I caught you ...
If the link looks like a jumble up gibberish or misspelled.
Major established businesses’ sites contain a contact us tab or a customer service phone number to report or ask about any possible suspicious emails. They may ask you to forward the email to assist them to apply more security strategies. Remember, don't click on any links.
. 5. Use of passwords:
· Don't let the computer save your passwords.
· Log out of sites
· Don't use the same password for all of your computer or online access sites.
· Change your password every 60 days.
· Make it personal and not public information.
· Use combinations of numbers, letters, and symbols more than six characters.
· Don’t write your passwords down in an internal computer file.
Portable laptops and cell phones that can access the Internet are becoming a second lifeline body attachment gadget. Lost or stolen can lead to stolen identity.
It's becoming trendy to use numbers in replace of letters in text or emails. Problem is the thieves are catching on.
6. Analyzing email addresses with a marketing mind:
· Names are obvious, especially full names and hyphenated married names.
· Combination of numbers in the email.
· Nicknames or phrases.
These are ways that can reveal names, sex, age, date of birth, hobbies, how many are in your family, single or married, possible parts of a phone number like area code and more.
7. Be careful with company email use:
· Don't use your company email for personal communication.
· Don’t send to or read your personal email at work.
· Don’t access public social network sites from work.
This creates a leaky breach of a security trail. Major companies pay a high dollar price for a high level of security. Highly educated gifted programmers create calculated theory formulas to trace what is sent and received.
Be careful of sending a company email to personal emails. If a personal email is hacked into, the bad guys may have access to confidential information.
Although a majority of companies usually use first name initials then full last name, a thief may call a main switchboard asking questions or search hard enough for the full name.
8. Check your spam, junk, sent, and trash folder often:
· Once a thief has access to your email they control where a mail message goes.
· They may have time to delete the trash or sent folder.
· They can send emails to friends, steal addresses, and delete them.
9. Be hesitant of sending chain emails or text message chains:
· It reveals people’s emails or phone numbers on the list.
· Use the BCC option to block other people’s emails.
· Be careful of replying or forwarding, especially if it says:
“ I hope I get this back or Pass it along or Keep it going”.
Most email outgoing messages will contain a BCC option, which means blind carbon copy. This option can allow you to block the recipient from seeing other people's email addresses. You never know who on the list has had their email hacked.
10. Be careful of who you give your email or personal information to:
· Mailing lists.
· Contests.
· Chain emails.
· Social Internet sites.
· Sites that ask for your email right away.
· Unknown businesses.
Think logically and reasonably when looking at information. And search for more valid information. The Internet is a wide open space still going through governing stages. Start with your own accessible resources to step up your own online security community.
Additional information about staying safe online from reputable sites:
Office of Information Technology – University of California at Irvine
Norton Antivirus free trial offers
