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Technology has become so prevalent in society and brought with it cyberthreats that evolve with every new generation of electronics. Email spam has been a problem for years now, from weight loss schemes to false promises of money. However, throughout the last few years, hackers have changed their methods, and it’s gotten more difficult to decipher which emails are fake and which are real.
Problem: Gone are the days of obvious spam, the expiration of car warranties, the prize money you could call to claim, and the new weight loss pill you could try by providing your credit card number. We’ve outgrown the old tricks, but technology has evolved, and so have the spam emails. Nowadays, hackers can make emails look like they were sent by a legitimate source, such as someone in your contact list or an established business. They’ll add links to websites that look so real many people have provided their information only to discover it was a scam all along. It’s getting harder to decipher real emails from false ones, and hackers are getting smarter.
Solution: Unfortunately, no one has found the magic solution for email scams, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem likely to disappear on its own. It used to be as simple as not responding, but when deadlines are presented, and false penalties are threatened, it’s more difficult to resist the urge to resolve whatever issue has manifested, even if it’s through a strange email. Hackers have even found ways to mimic popular social media sites in order to access users’ login information. This is especially dangerous when it comes to financial information, but one thing to always keep in mind is that real businesses will contact you in other ways if you do not respond to emails, and some companies don’t use emails at all to contact clients. If you receive an email from your bank or phone service company etc., reach out via a phone call and speak to a real representative before following through with any instructions.
Though there’s no true solution aside from awareness, one way to be sure a link is real is to check the URL. Instead of clicking the link they send, hover your mouse over it and double-check that it is sending you to the actual website and not a website disguised as another. Typing in the URL yourself is also a way to detect false websites. Beware of clicking links without double-checking them, as they can sometimes cause you to unknowingly spam your contact list, which only spreads the scam.
There are steps you can take to protect your information and prevent hackers from being able to access your device. Malware prevention is one method, as well as making sure you’re using a secure WiFi network wherever you are. Online privacy is extremely important in order to protect your devices from being susceptible to hackers and spam emails and messages.
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