Spam is the equivalent of "junk mail" that arrives at the front door mat or mailbox. However, spam is very annoying. It is often dangerous, especially if it is part of a phishing scam.
Spam emails come in large numbers
from spammers and cybercriminals trying to do one or more of the following:
•
Make money
from a small percentage of recipients who really answer the message
•
Perform
phishing – to get passwords, Mastercard numbers, checking account details and
more
•
Spread
malicious code to the recipient's computer
How to protect yourself from spam emails and phishing
• Set multiple email addresses
It's an honest idea to own at At least two email addresses.
- Private email address
•
This should
only be used for private communications. Spammers use a descriptive name, word,
and number combinations to create a list of possible email addresses, which
should make it difficult for spammers to guess. The private address does not
have to be just a name and a name. You need to protect your address by
following these steps:
•
Do not expose your
personal email address to publicly accessible
online resources.
•
If you publish
your private address electronically, try masking it so that spammers don't get
it. For example, "Joe.Smith@yahoo.com" is a simple address for
spammers to find. Try writing "Joe-dot-Smith-at-yahoo.com" instead.
•
When publishing a private address on an internet site, it is
safer to publish it as a graphic file rather than a link.
•
If your private address is discovered by a spammer – you
need to change it. This may be inconvenient, but changing your email address
can help avoid spam.
- Public email address
Use this address if you subscribe
to public forums, chat rooms, mailing lists or other internet services. The
following tips will also help reduce the amount of spam you receive through
your public email address.
Treat public addresses as short-term addresses. Spammers are
likely to line up quickly with your public address-especially if it's used
frequently on the web.
Don't
be afraid to change your public email address frequently.
Consider using a large number of public addresses. That way, you're much more
likely to track which services may be selling your address to spammers.
• Never respond to spam
Most spammers check receipts and
log responses. The more you respond, the more likely you are to receive spam.
• Think twice before clicking
Unregister
Spammers send fake unsubscribe
letters to collect active email addresses. Clicking Unsubscribe with one of
these letters will only increase the amount of spam you receive. Do not click the
"Unsubscribe" link for emails from unknown sources.
• Keep your browser up to date
Make sure you are using the latest version of your browser with all the latest Internet security patches.
• Use anti-spam filters
Open your email account only with
providers that include spam filtering. Choose an antivirus and internet
security solution that also includes advanced antispam features.
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