Keep Your E-mail Account Protected from Phishing Attacks
Recent news on e-mail phishing (Hotmail, Gmail and others) got many people wondering if their e-mail accounts are protected. The good thing is that none of the accidents happened because of security problems inside the affected systems; this means users of Hotmail and Gmail can feel relatively safe. Convincing fraud schemes are the main issue in this case, but there are precautions you can take to avoid the trap.
Scammers usually trick people into sharing their details by creating a website or an email message which looks like it’s representing a reputable company. The fake pages usually imitate financial companies like PayPal or eBay. Experts believe the very next scam to exploit the Hotmail/Gmail incident by redirecting people to fraudulent websites and asking them to change their passwords. What can you do to avoid such frauds?
* Think twice and check twice before clicking a link, giving your personal details away, trusting a website or replying an email sent by apparently reputable source. Be very cautious if you’re asked to provide sensitive data such as credit card information or social security number. Copy or type the URL to browser’s address bar instead of clicking on the link; this way you can be sure you’re visiting the real website and not a hoax. Even if a web source looks like a legitimate one, check the URL to make sure it’s not a fake one.
* Revise your password regularly and make sure it’s not easy to guess. It’s recommended to change e-mail password once in three months. If the same password is used for multiple accounts, you take a risk of compromising all of them at the time. If you suspect a breach to your e-mail account, change the password and security questions/alternate e-mail addresses as soon as possible.
* Mind the security certificates. Online banking websites and other websites handling sensitive information usually have security certificate; web browser should warn you upon visiting websites without such a thing. Address of a secure web source starts with “https” instead of “http”. Web browser displays closed padlock icon on bottom-right corner when visiting a safe web site.
* Use decent security tools. The newest versions of most web browsers include filters to prevent you from visiting suspicious websites. Most popular security kits offer one way or another to protect a computer and user from phishing attacks.
Losing an e-mail account to scammers is dangerous even if you use different passwords to all the other online accounts and if you don’t care about somebody reading your mail. Keep in mind that many websites (including financial accounts) have an option to deliver lost password via email. This way you may lose money and sensitive data simply by accidentally sharing your e-mail password.
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