Have you ever received an email from unknown sources or maybe from a friend or colleague that seems a little off? Can you find this type of emails in your spam folder? Does the email have links or website URL that you need to click? When you answer all three questions with a yes then there is a high chance that those emails were sent by hackers.
Email Scams
Hackers nowadays are getting better and smarter in stealing personal information. They are now using our trust on others as a way to steal personal information through sending emails. The emails they send would appear legit or credible due to the sender being someone we know or a notable company, but there is a catch to this emails. This emails would contain a link and the sender would ask you to click the link and require you to fill out personal information in the website that the link has directed you to.
The sender would even say that by clicking on the link provided in the email you can protect yourself from cyber threats. But be warned, falling for this type of scam and giving them your personal information you are now opening yourself for an attack from this cybercriminal.
Personal Information
Think about it, your birth date, address, phone number, your mother’s maiden name is information that is often asked to validate your identity. This is not simply information that you should be giving out to anyone, especially on the internet. An example of this is when a bank will validate your identity when you call them up.
They would ask you name, date of birth, address etc. information that you know you know by heart. And this is the information that hackers want to get from you. This is information that are all present in your accounts.
Be aware of scams
To protect yourself and prevent this cyber criminal from the dangers of getting your identity stolen, you should know when an email is legit. It’s a 100% no, to open emails from unknown senders. By not opening this email in the first place, you have already prevented them from attacking you and stealing information from you.
Be cautious of emails received in your spam folder. Not all emails that you receive in your spam folder are sent by hackers, some of them come from a newsletter you have subscribed to. Take for instance Job Street or LinkedIn job notifications, often emails from them are going directly to the recipient’s spam folder. But be wary of emails from sites you haven’t even subscribed to. They are maybe sent by hackers that are just using the identity of someone else to steal personal information.
When you receive an email from a friend and the email contains only a link without other details, then this is most likely sent by hackers. Your friends will never send you an email with only a link in it without telling you what it is for. When you see this type of email try to get in touch with your friend and ask if they sent that email to you. If they answer no then delete the email at once and don’t even try clicking the link at all.
Conclusion
If ever the email they are sending is repetitive then block the email address of the sender. You can set your account to block such emails from a specific sender you believe are sent by hackers. By doing this, you are preventing them to contact you and you are protecting yourself from an attack. In our world, today being vigilant to the ploys and threats of cybercriminals is the best and only way of protecting ourselves from their attack.
