Stop E-mail Spam & Fraud & Computer Spyware
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Get Your Free Annual Credit Report! (Don't PAY for it! - You don't need to - if you follow this link) YES, YOU CAN Stop Annoying Sales Calls & Junk Mail!
Contacts and Resources
If your efforts to have inaccurate information removed from your credit report fail, make sure to copy this Consumer Rights Organization on all your communications with the credit card and credit reporting agencies:
Helpful Links
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Stop E-mail Spam & E-mail Fraud:
- Install anti-junk mailfilters,
- Check with your Internet provider - most of them provide a spam filter free of charge.
- Alternatively, you could download a software:
- such as Spamfighter - which blocks spam from your Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express inbox.
- Or: Malwarebytes: http://www.malwarebytes.org/products.php - I downloaded that one for free after it was recommended to me. It works great.
- Report E-mail Fraud and Spam to the Federal Trade Commission by forwarding the entire e-mail to spam@uce.gov.
- Recommendation: Adding this e-mail address to your Outlook address book will make it easy for you to forward unwanted e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission. Every time you forward junk to them, you help in the fight against those spammers.
- E-mails that Appear to Come from Banks / Financial Institutions - any domain that maintains your credit and personal information:
- How it works: A legitimate web page is reproduced in "look and feel" on another server under control of the attacker. The intent is to fool the users into thinking that they are connected to a trusted site, for instance to harvest user names and passwords.
- Recommendations:
- Do not log in / provide personal information in your e-mail. If you receive an e-mail that "your banking information" (for example) needs to be updated and it's an institution you are a member of - get out of the e-mail and log into your account from your browser. Never ever from the e-mail, which will harvest your personal and financial information for their financial gain and your loss.
- Report it! Most banks / institutions have a "spoof" e-mail address in place, in this format:
- spoof@ebay.com
- spoof@paypal.com
- spoof@yourbank.com or abuse@yourbank
Phishing is a form of fraud designed specifically to steal your identity.
You can't be sure that an email is valid based on the sender’s email address.
Don’t trust an email address. It’s pretty easy to alter and is not an indication of whether the email is real or not.
E-mails that appear to come from a reputable financial institution (bank, credit card company, e-bay, paypal) that ask you to provide personal information:
The sender is trying to steal your identity by tricking you into revealing your password or other personal information. Criminals may make up fake stories that are designed to lure you into clicking a link or button in the e-mail or calling a phone number to get your personal / website log-in / financial information.
Do not provide personal information such information as your full name, password, driver's license number, social security number, credit and debit card numbers, pin numbers or bank account numbers to anyone over e-mail or on the phone - unless you KNOW you are talking to your bank / financial institution; you initiated the call with the number that you know to be the correct number (the number on the back of the credit card or on your bank statement, etc.)
Many phishing emails have links that look valid, but send you to fraudulent sites instead. Do not click on these links but open the browser and go to your bank's / credit card's other institution that you are a member / client of and log in from there.
Divulged Personal Information: If you believe you have mistakenly given your personal information to a fraudster, file a complaint at ftc.gov, and then visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Identity Theft website at ftc.gov/idtheft to learn how to minimize your risk of damage from a potential theft of your
identity.
The Threat of Viruses / Worms / Spyware:
Everybody nowadays needs an anti-virus software, such as Norton's, MacAfee, etc. Even if you don't open suspect e-mails, some websites run javascripts programs that will automatically install viruses on your computer just by opening a webpage. Your primary defense is an anti-virus software. However, you can't rely on this only -- as new virus versions are coming out daily ...
It's important to never open attachments or run software from an e-mail unless you know what it is (such as expecting a Word document from a co-worker, for example). E-mails from reputable institutions do usually not contain attachments or software. If in doubt, call a telephone number of the institution that you trust to be correct / legitimate.
Spyware! Someone wants your personal and financial information for their gain ... don't give it to them ...
Recently my PC was infected by the Baxter worm. I mistyped a website url that I frequently visit and all of a sudden, things went terribly wrong. I had ugly "bugs" crawling over my screen. Pop up windows opening every second. I run Nortons and it cleared my computer as being "bug free" -- well, it wasn't. I did some research and found out that this virus actually enables outsiders access to my confidential information.
THE FIRST, and most IMPORTANT step to take, when your computer is infected with spyware is to take your pc off the Internet. Pull out the network cable - do whatever you can to prevent your personal and financial information to be forwarded on to an outside, unauthorized server. As long as your computer is connected to the Internet, your passwords, financial records -- all your personal information -- is wide open to the hackers.
Once you have taken your PC off the internet, you can then start troubleshooting the problem ... Ideally you have access to another computer so that you can research the problem and download any fixes.
Second Step: Write down the error message you are getting (or copy and paste in into a Word Processor)
Third Step: Research the error message you are getting on the Internet. Oftentimes you will find a fix online for the worm / virus / spyware. Follow the instructions to download and safe. (Be careful - do make sure the "fix" is coming from a reputable source; some hackers will disguise adware / viruses as a fix.
Recommended tools to protect your computer, or to clean it up:
- Dr.Web's free CureIt utility. It cleans computer infected with viruses and spyware: http://www.freedrweb.com/cureit/
- PC Tools. I installed it and it cleaned up my computer in minutes - it actually found another serious virus as well ... Below is the link for more information. I can't recommend it enough.
- PC Tools Internet Security includes Spyware Doctor AntiSpyware, AntiVirus, Firewall Plu and Spam protection (you can purchase this software online or in stores)
