Melt away pounds instantly! Get a business loan! Be a hero in bed!
Thank goodness I don't believe or reply to every e-mail I've ever received. If I had, I'm certain that my bank account would be empty and my credit score would be severely tarnished.
While the majority of us are getting wiser to unsolicited e-mails offering Viagra and seemingly free money from bank accounts in Nigeria, spam continues to be the primary way that a computer's security is compromised.
So how to protect yourself? The best thing to do is learn to spot the signs of bad e-mail and ask questions:
Who sent the e-mail message?
Does it have suspicious attachments?
Does it have links to questionable Web sites?
How was the e-mail constructed? Are there obvious spelling errors?
I recently received a couple of unsolicited messages. See if you can spot what's wrong with these e-mails:
"Indulge your passion for cooking. Learn to create delectable dishes from the best cooking schools now! Start your cooking career now - search for culinary schools near you."
Reply to: Becomeachef@seeaname.
Hmmm. "See a name" eh? That sounds fishy enough to be false. I checked to see if it was legitimate on a site called Samspade.org, which does background checks on domain names. It turned out to be linked to a questionable Web site. I better delete that one.
The second one looked like it was accidentally sent to me. The subject read: "it's wonderful to know you" and was addressed to a guy named Phillip.
The letter began... Aloha, dear,
No words can describe how lonely I am. When I return home, I turn light on everywhere to raise my mood somehow. I am afraid to sleep alone. I am scared of the darkness, so I cover myself with a blanket over a head and try to fall asleep as fast as possible...
How sad, I thought, that this heartfelt letter found its way into my Inbox. That is, until the e-mail asked me to find my love at myrussiabrdle.info... Oh yea, this is definitely headed to the trash.
It's surprising how easily fooled we are; even more so when friends are involved. There was an e-mail floating around recently that said Microsoft and AOL were going to pay people $245 to participate in an e-mail test. To get my check, I had to forward the e-mail to as many people as I know and track which ones replied and send the information back to Microsoft at the e-mail address provided. There must have been about 120 people on the e-mail listed. The e-mail is fake and according to urban legend debunking site Snopes.com; the scam has been going around for some time.
The second best advice is to not open the e-mail at all unless you have to. There is a new method called pixel tracking that sends back a message to the spammer if the images included in the e-mail load in, thereby acknowledging that your e-mail address is legitimate. Many e-mail programs have a setting that prevents images from loading unless asked. I recommend that technique.
Most Internet service providers do a fair job at preventing unsolicited e-mail from reaching us. But it's those extra steps we can take to prevent from opening spam in the first place that will help stamp it out.
And as always with e-mail offers...if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
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