7 Steps to Stay Safe Online
Image source: Maxim Ilyahov, Unsplash
Hello again!
No doubt you read about online phishing scams every day.
Hopefully not, but you’ve probably faced more than your fair share of cyber scam attempts over time. Cyber fraud and online fraud are all over the place. It’s terrible!
What’s more, Cyber criminals are very smart and tricky.
Unfortunately many people fall prey to these crimes. Please beware and be vigilant. Never let your guard down.
So, this week we want to share these two stories about online fraud that Actually Happened to Me in the last few weeks. So you can try to outsmart the criminals and reduce the risk of getting into trouble and losing money and time.
Read on to learn about these two recent phishing scam attempts on yours truly.
Look twice before you click! Be on guard!
The two recent cyber scams – hacking attempts – on me which we covered in the post Two New Cyber Scams for the Price of One – seemed too good to be true.
Thankfully, I realized it and passed.
In many ways, the old adage my grandfather used to say, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” still rings true.
The only thing I wasted was my time. But on the other hand, I learned a valuable lesson that reminded me to be on guard, remain skeptical and proceed slowly.
This post is part of a three-part series on cyber scams and cyber security.
You can grab the other two posts in this series: Two New Cyber Scams for the Price of One and 7 Common Cyber Scams to Make Your Day.
Read on and be sure to protect yourself!
Arthur V.
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Phishing scams include a link or two to the online fraudster’s website and request that you enter your bank account information, Social Security Number or other personal information.
Typically, cyber criminals email you from a bogus email address where the lettering is very close – almost identical – to the legitimate company’s email address.
One or two letters may be incorrect. Or for example,
A letter might be capitalized instead of lower case.
Often, the online fraudsters’ links contain a virus that is designed to take over your computer or company’s computer systems. Then their fun and games begin. Cyber criminals often hold victims hostage for ransom. Perhaps they open credit cards in your name or even a home mortgage. Nasty business.
If you’re anything like me, you never think you’ll fall prey to a cyber or phishing scam. But it’s easy, very easy, to fall for these scams. Especially when we’re in a hurry, multitasking, tired or bleary-eyed from staring at the computer monitor all day.
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7 Steps to Stay Safe Online:
When you receive an email that seems suspicious, even if the sender appears to be someone you know or an organization you are familiar with, before you click:
Check the sender’s email address carefully.
Hover your mouse over the email address and look for a bogus email address and spelling errors. The display name typically looks legitimate.
For example, an email (supposedly) from Secure Bank might be from John.Doe@SecureBaank.com instead of the correct spelling John.Doe@SecureBank.com. Note: we made up these emails addresses to illustrate the point; they may or may not be real email addresses.
In the bogus email address, notice the two ‘aa’s’ in ‘baank’ instead of one ‘a’ in ‘bank’; I have seen this numerous times.
When people are busy and in a hurry, it can be easy to miss this.
Another ploy I have seen is to use a capital letter vs. a lower case; for example, ‘CIty’ vs. City. The upper case ‘i’ is actually a lower case L or ‘l’.
So your reply would land in someone’s email but not the bank’s.
Read the email very carefully. Take your time.
Evaluate whether the content is reasonable and makes sense.
Look for misspelled words and poor grammar.
If the offer or problem seems out of the ordinary or too good to be true, it probably is. Pass and delete the email immediately. Mark it as ‘junk’ or phishing.
If you want to verify the email and the issue mentioned, call the company or government agency directly at their telephone number. Look up the company’s number online or via directory assistance. Don’t call the telephone number listed in the email or the sender’s signature file. Verify with the Company whether there’s a question or issue about your account or a balance due.
Be on guard if your boss or the President of your company makes an urgent, frantic request that you wire money somewhere. Especially if the President is out of town or on vacation.
When it comes to financial accounts – bank accounts, brokerage accounts, credit card accounts, etc., make it a practice to check your balances regularly. Follow up on errors and omissions ASAP. Verify with the Company whether there’s a question about your account or balance due. Call the institution directly using their telephone number; NOT the number in the email.
When you receive these emails at work, mark them as phishing and report them to your IT Department so they can block the sender’s email address.
Don’t Click On Any Links!
Delete these Emails Immediately if Not Sooner!
With all the cyber and phishing scams coming to our email inboxes every week; our hectic schedules; and harried lives our quest for success, it’s Easy to make a mistake.
Proceed slowly, before you click! Don’t let that be you.
Be on guard 24/7. Stay safe!
You can grab the other two posts in this series: Two New Cyber Scams for the Price of One and 7 Common Cyber Scams to Make Your Day.
See you next week.
Arthur V.
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