Internet and Email Precautions

Internet and Email Precautions

Unfortunately, the Internet is full of cyber-criminals: hackers, phishers, scammers and the like who try to get over on others. It is important to be aware of what you are reading before you interact within your email accounts.

 

Passwords and IDs hold high value with cyber criminals. Sending phishing emails to a lot of random email addresses is one easy way scammers steal information from unsuspecting people.

 

It is important to be aware of these emails and keep an eye out for them.

It's probably a phishing email if:

• The email is poorly written with misspellings and incorrect grammar, or a familiar company name is misspelled.

 

• Your name isn’t in the “To” line. This email has likely been sent to thousands of people.

 

• The sender’s email address is suspicious; it might have a familiar company or government organization that is misspelled.

 

• The email doesn’t use your name. Any financial institution you have an account with knows your name, and the correct spelling of your name. Email beginning with “Dear valued customer,” “To Whom It May Concern,” or even “Hello,” could signal a scam.

 

• The URL is a fake. Hover (just hover) over the “click here” or “take action now” link with your mouse. If you see a strange URL instead of a legitimate company website, don’t click.

 

• You’re informed that there’s a security breach on your account, and if you don’t take the action recommended in the email, your account will be temporarily suspended.

 

• The email asks for your personal, credit card or online account information or takes you to a website that asks for it. Legitimate companies don’t usually do that.

 

• Sometimes the emails could even appear to be from someone you know, asking you to do strange things like transfer money – Do not click on anything within this email, do not forward it and do not act on it – Instead, call the person you think the email is from or call a superior officer that you know and ask about the legitimacy of this email over the phone.

If you receive a suspicious email:

Don't open it / delete it immediately.
Don't follow any links in the email - even if its to "unsubscribe" from the sender - and Don't open any files attached to the email.

 

Don't forward it. Forwarding emails like this to anyone else could be dangerous for the person you are forwarding the email to; you could just be forwarding something bad to someone you know.

 

If you would like to report that you have received a fraudulent or suspicious email, compose a separate email and manually type in the details of the fraudulent email you had received (DO NOT copy and paste) and send the report to statepresident@abateoflouisiana.org and/or webmaster@abateoflouisiana.org.

 

To learn more about what to watch for and what to avoid, visit the legitimate links below, or Google the words 'email scams phishing fraudulent emails'.

 

Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Information (https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0003-phishing)

 

Microsoft - Email and web scams: How to help protect yourself (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/safety/online-privacy/phishing-scams.aspx)

 

Microsoft - How to recognize phishing email messages, links, or phone calls (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/safety/online-privacy/phishing-symptoms.aspx)

 

USA.gov - Online Safety  (https://www.usa.gov/online-safety)

 

Furthermore, you can conduct an internet search on google.com (or on any other web browser) using keywords like “Internet and Email Safety” and find even more information.  Happy Learning!