Security
Summer & Holiday Season Big Business for Cyber Criminals
It been a busy day here at MommyBlogExpert where I typically receive upwards of 3,500 emails per day, 7 days per week. Already today I've reported three different suspicious phishing emails from three different scammers that were made to look like they were coming from Wells Fargo, DHL and Amazon respectively.
Apparently I am not alone, since according to an email I received from PayPal's fraudulent email investigation team, 90% of all email sent worldwide falls into the spoof, phishing, spam and general junk categories.
Since it really does make a difference when you report these problematic emails, I thought I'd share with readers how easily you can also deal with these cyber crooks --whether you are using your personal or business email -- to help prevent them from stealing your personal identity, hacking into your email account and/or infecting your computer, tablet or smartphone with some type of lethal virus.
Combatting Phishing Involves Just 2 Easy Steps
There are just two really important but quick and simple things to do immediately after you receive a questionable email.
Step #1
First and foremost, do not download attachments, click on any links or reply directly to the email with requested personal information.
Step #2
Second, immediately report the phishing email you received by forwarding it to the company who the fraudster is trying to impersonate. For example, when you get an email that looks like it's from Amazon, but probably isn't, send the entire email as an attachment or simply just forward it to Amazon's scam reporting center at stop-spoofing@amazon.com. If you don't happen to know where to forward your email all you have to do is Google the name of the company that is being falsely represented and the word "phishing" and you'll most likely be able to get the right email to forward your message to. If possible, it's also a good idea to report the email you received to the Internet Crime Complaint Center. This agency works in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Center to investigate Internet crime schemes.
Take these steps whenever you receive what looks like a fraudulent email. Not only will you be helping yourself, there's a better chance these cyber thieves will be caught and prosecuted, preventing others from being victimized in the future.
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