Beware of Spam, Part 5

As we’ve seen, spam messages are more than a source of irritation; they often arrive in our inboxes with dangers that we need to avoid.

Cybercriminals send messages that make fraudulent solicitations or attempt to trick you out of money or steal personal, account, or password data. Nearly half of all emails are spam, many people have fallen victim to spam scams, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages have been the result. 

It’s something we all need to take seriously.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most importantly, be wary and watchful. Know that cybercriminals are masters of making their spam emails appear perfectly legitimate. Remember that legitimate companies know better than to ask for compromising data to be shared over email. Do your research and contact the company directly to put your mind at ease.

Avoid opening suspicious emails, clicking on any suspicious links, or downloading unsolicited attachments. And keep your security software up to date to protect yourself against anything that sneaks past you.

Finally, keep a sharp eye on your accounts. Be on the lookout for any activity that you don’t recognize and if you do see something concerning, take action right away.

The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 makes bulk unsolicited commercial email illegal, and nearly all of these messages fall into this category. The fraud and cyberattacks initiated by these spam emails are also, obviously, illegal. But criminals don’t follow the law and they know how to get around the protections that have been put in place. So we need to take steps to protect ourselves from the dangers of spam.

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