Fake E-Card Scam, Beware

Have you noticed that more users are becoming victims of phishing scams? New phishing scams crop up whenever there is an event that is getting the attention of a large number of people. It could be a natural disaster, an election, or even developments in the world financial system. It is best to make yourself aware of how scammers entice their victims to give in to their tricks.

Beware of fake e-cards, especially during the holiday season. In reality, these e-cards may be a phishing scam, spam, a spyware installer, or a virus. E-cards are links that are sent to you, which you can click on to open the “greeting card”. Needless to say, once you click on the link, you are actually opening the “website” where your greeting card was created. This is where the danger of downloading something that could be very destructive is.

So how do you avoid fake e-cards? More often than not, scammers send fake e-cards using reputable companies in order to appear more convincing. On your end, you must be alert to recognize the sender of the e-card. If you do not know the sender, do not trust the e-card. If you are familiar with the company that sent it to you, it is obvious that you have your own way of telling that the email is not a fraud.

You must check the display name and the sender’s email address. When you are in doubt as to the sender or the intent of the email, never click on any links. Most importantly, do not download anything, even if the source seems legitimate. When it comes to a file attachments, do not open or download any attachment unless you are sure of its origin.

In case you happened to open a seemingly legitimate website that has an end-user agreement, take the time to read all of it. Of course, it will take a lot of time to read all that fine print, but it is a must. You might be agreeing to install something that you do not want, like spyware.