Identity Theft Tips: E-mail Scam Prevention

An e-mail scam is one that involves the request of personal information by a person committing identity theft. Usually there is some sort of promise such as that of a large sum of money if you hand over some sort of deposit.

Other types of e-mail scams may involve asking you to cash foreign money for which you could get a percentage. However, in order to do so you have to hand over for instance your bank account number.

Another very popular scam would be imposter websites asking you to order legitimate products. You might also find that you are receiving a lot of e-mails telling you that your PayPal or eBay account has been suspended.

No matter what the type of scam is, beware. In order to prevent from being conned here are some valuable prevention tips:

• Never click on a link in an e-mail, and then go to a supposed legitimate web page and enter your password. One rare exception is if you know for sure it is from a trusted source. However, even then it is best to copy the link into the web browser to verify the link goes to where it is supposed to go.
• Check with your current internet service provider (ISP). They may have a list of suspicious e-mail addresses. Block these from your mailbox whenever possible. In fact, have all unknown e-mails sent to a “Bulk,” “Spam,” “Junk,” or similar purpose folder.
• Make sure you immediately delete any e-mail that goes to your inbox that is from an unknown source. This would reduce the chance that you would get a virus of some kind, thus reducing dramatically the chance of identity theft.
• Another option is if your e-mail account (i.e. Yahoo, Go Daddy, Windows Live) that provides a quick reading pane. This allows you to quickly peruse your e-mail box without opening them. You can glance at e-mails without even opening them. However, delete them if you know it is not from a trusted source or you could get a virus.
• Never give your personal details to anyone in an e-mail you do not trust or know well. This could lead to trouble very much. You may want to delete receipts sent to you via e-mail. They can always be printed off.
• Be very careful when checking your e-mail on a public computer. This is one sure way to invite harvesting or phishing scams. Login and log out immediately after checking your e-mail on a public computer.