Security and Safety During the Holiday Season

 I have been seeing a HUGE rise in scam / spam / phishing emails in the last couple weeks.  As in I used to not get ANY spam / scam emails, then last week I got over a dozen in a day.

These people are trying to get you to click a link in an email, go to a site, and then enter all your information.  Names, addresses, credit card numbers, security codes.

Your email service should offer options to report, then delete, any scam emails.

Please, never give this info out to anyone online unless you are certain the people you are dealing with are actually who they say they are.  Never click on links unless you are expecting the link from someone.  Correct, I would double check links even in my own emails.  For example, if someone asked for help, I might send a link back with steps of instructions. 

Some ways to see if an email is "real:"  check the sending email address.  Home Depot, Wells Fargo, or whoever is not going to send an email from "iamascammer @ gmail.com."

A proper email will be from a domain (the @<domainnamehere>.com/.org/.net) like homedepot.com, kusc.org, spectrum.net.

Look for unusual grammar or spelling, not just what is said, but also how it's said, as if English isn't the first language, or it was written by a computer / AI program. Nonsense words or sentences are a good clue.

If you are not sure of the email, you are welcome to forward it to me and I'll take a look at it.  I'm not a security expert, but I do know people that are experts.  

As I go ahead and break my own "rule,"  Coast Hills Credit Union has an excellent article on fraud and scams.  I strongly encourage anyone to check with they finance institution for more information.

Here's just some of what Coast Hills recommends;

1. Don’t provide your user ID and password to anyone who calls, texts or emails you saying your account is restricted or compromised, no matter who they claim to be. 
2. Don’t send gift cards or send Peer-to-Peer (P2P) payments to anyone you met online saying that they desperately need money or to someone who called or texted saying you owe money for bills, taxes, fines, etc. Legitimate businesses do not accept those payments.
3. If someone urges you not to tell anyone about what they’re asking you to do, you are being scammed.
4. Scammers will threaten your physical safety or warn of dire legal consequences if you don’t comply with what they’re asking you to do.
5. Courts, law enforcement personnel or tax collectors will never ask to be paid using gift cards or P2P payments. Local, state and federal agencies do not collect over the phone.

Here's hoping we all have a nice, quiet, relaxing Thanksgiving holiday.