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The Dangers of Spam

While spam often seems like a harmless annoyance at first, it is also a very dangerous threat to your computer. While some messages are harmless ploys to entice you to purchase odd items, spam is also one of most popular attack vectors for hackers. Hackers use spambots to send out massive amounts of emails that contain dangerous attachments, pictures and links.

These dangerous emails can infect your computer with viruses, malware and spyware. The hackers use these malicious programs to steal your financial and personal information, including credit card numbers, bank account information and user names and passwords. These dangers make spam a serious threat to the security of computer users.

How to Avoid Spam

Due to the way spambots work, it is virtually impossible to avoid all forms of spam. However, there are a few simple ways you can minimize your exposure to spam. First, never publish or post your email address in a publically accessible area on a website. Spambots crawl the Internet and collect publically posted email addresses to add to their mailing lists.

Another way to avoid spam is to avoid using your primary email address when signing up for newsletters and website memberships. Many websites sell this information to advertisers who then use the email addresses on their mass mailing lists, which are often sold to third parties. Instead of using your primary email address, create another email address that you use only for signing up for websites. This way, you can still access member information, and your primary email box remains clean.

Spam Clean-Up Basics

If you are already receiving large amounts of spam, don’t despair. There are still ways you can clean up your inbox and restore your email sanity. The first step is to unsubscribe from any legitimate mass mailing lists you have joined. If you are receiving spam from legitimate businesses, such as Best Buy or Wal-Mart, you can often respond to a message with the word “Unsubscribe” in the subject or body of the email to be removed from their list. Additionally, many emails will have a link at the bottom that you can click to unsubscribe as well. However, this typically only works for the legitimate companies who have you on their mailing lists.

Unscrupulous spammers usually don’t offer you a way to get out of their spam cross hairs. Unfortunately, these are also typically the spammers who are sending nefarious and dangerous messages as well. When dealing with these spammers, be very careful not to open the spam messages or click on anything within them. Even just opening a malicious spam message can infect your computer with malware or viruses. When you receive a spam from someone you don’t know, or that looks suspicious, select the message and use your email program’s “Junk” or “Spam” button to safely remove the suspicious message from your inbox.

While this will take manual intervention at first, eventually your email client will automatically filter more of the suspicious messages directly into your spam folder. Most email clients, including Windows Live, Yahoo! and Gmail, use complex spam detection algorithms that dynamically adapt to spam trends. When the filter notices certain senders or email subject lines being consistently marked as spam, they then learn to automatically flag similar messages as spam without your intervention. It takes a little while for the filters to catch on, but when you consistently flag these messages as junk or spam, the filter does begin to do a better job of keeping them out of your inbox.

While it might be impossible to completely eliminate spam, it is possible to get spam under control and avoid your computer becoming infected from spammed malware. As long as you never open suspicious messages and remain vigilant about reporting spam, you can minimize the amount of spam you come in contact with and keep your computer safe.

How Does Phishing Work?

The most popular vector for phishing attacks is through email. An attacker will send out an email that claims that sensitive information has been compromised. They may ask the victim to respond to the email with their account information, or they may provide the victim with a link to an official looking website. If the individual responds to the email or logs into the site provided, they have been successfully “phished.”

How to Spot a Phishing Scam

As Internet security awareness has increased, phishing scams have gotten more and more complex. Often, it can be nearly impossible to tell the difference between a scam email and a valid email from a bank or other official company at first glance. To add to the confusion, phishing emails often appear to be sent from real organizations, and they include real company logos and website links.

Not only do these fraudulent emails often appear official, they also urge the victim to take immediate action. The attackers make the victim believe they must react immediately in hopes that the victim will divulge sensitive information before they become suspicious.

It can be hard to tell a phishing email from a valid one at first glance, but there are several red flags that can reveal a scam.

Phishing email red flags:

• Minor typos in a company name or logo
• Minor spelling changes in a well known web site address
• Emails from businesses you typically do not do business with
• Emails that claim account information has been compromised
• Emails that claim immediate action needs to be taken with dire consequences
• Emails that ask for a user name, password, account number or social security number

How to Defend Against Phishing Scams

The best way to avoid phishing scams is to simply avoid clicking on links sent through email, and always verify the identity of financial institutions before divulging any sensitive information. For example, when receiving an email that comes from a bank, do not click any links in the email to log into the banking website. Instead, type the web address of the bank into the web browser manually. This simple action will thwart the vast majority of phishing attempts.

Additionally, if an email seems suspicious, call the company in question directly at their official phone number to inquire about your account. Do not use any phone numbers included in a suspicious email, and do not click on any of the contents of the email either.

Other solid anti-phishing practices include:

• Reporting suspicious emails immediately
• Keeping your browser and operating system updated and patched
• Checking bank and credit card statements regularly for fraudulent or unrecognized charges
• Utilizing security tools such as antivirus software and official browser security toolbars
• Never divulging sensitive information over chat or email

What to Do If You Have Been Phished

If you believe you have divulged sensitive financial or account information to a scammer, contact your financial institution immediately. If you have divulged account information for a website, such as eBay.com, contact the site immediately. Once you have notified the company in question that your information has been compromised, they can freeze accounts and reset your passwords to mitigate the damage done by the scammer.

Acting quickly is the key to reducing the amount of damage done by a phishing attack. Even if it turns out to be a false alarm, it is always better to err on the side of caution. Resources including identitytheft.org and antiphishing.org contain comprehensive resources that can guide you through recovering from a phishing attack.