How Your Email Can Hurt You And How To Prevent The Pain

Email phishing has become so successful that it’s now referred to as “weaponized email.” Not a very pleasant thing to think about, but research shows it’s time you did. ValiMail's 2017 Email Fraud Landscape Report finds that one of five emails in your inbox may come from a disreputable source. A report by Google and the University of California at Berkeley says phishing is the biggest threat to online identities, particularly to individuals who have already experienced internet data breaches.

Experts tell users to pay serious attention to their inboxes and follow security steps to minimize vulnerability to weaponized email. Here are some guidelines that everyone should live by:

1. Protect your computer with a firewall, spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Do some research to ensure you are getting the most up-to-date software and keep your security programs updated at all times to ensure that you are blocking new viruses and spyware.

2. Never enter personal information in a pop-up screen. Do not click on links in a pop-up screen or copy web addresses into your browser from pop-ups. Legitimate enterprises should never ask you to submit personal information in pop-up screens, so don’t do it.

3. Communicate personal information only via phone or secure web sites. When conducting online transactions, look for a sign that the site is secure such as a lock icon on the browser’s status bar or a “https:” URL where the “s” stands for “secure” rather than just “http." If you don't see the "s," use the telephone.

4. Do not click on links, download files, or open attachments in emails from unknown senders. It is best to open attachments only when you are expecting them and know what they contain, even if you know the sender.

5. Never email personal or financial information, even if you are close with the recipient. You never know who may gain access to your email account, or to the person’s account to whom you are emailing. Besides that, email should not be considered a secure form of communication.

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