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EMAIL SAFETY

While we're on the subject of contacting people via email, there's one basic tip for using email that you need to know

PARANOIA IS YOUR FRIEND!

There are SO many email scams, phishing attacks, virus attacks and more out there that it is absolutely essential to

be always on your guard with incoming email.

Got an email supposedly from your bank, credit card company, PayPal, etc.? BE AWARE (and BEWARE!) that no

legitimate company will ask you to click on a link in an email to "update your account information", "verify your credit

card information", etc. If you get an email that asks you to do such a thing, DON'T DO IT! Instead, open your

browser, use your normal shortcut or bookmark to go to the financial institution site, and log in from there. Then

you'll be able to see if there is, in fact, a problem.

Most financial institutions will have an email address where you can forward suspicious-looking emails. For instance,

if you get a suspicious-looking email that supposedly is from PayPal, forward the email to spoof@paypal.com - and

then delete the email.

Here's some tips from PayPal on recognizing a fraudulent PayPal email (these apply to most suspicious emails):

"There are many signs of a fraudulent email.

Sender's Address - The "From" line may include an official-looking address that mimics a genuine one.

Generic Greetings - Be wary of impersonal greetings like "Dear User," or your email address. A legitimate

PayPal email will always greet you by your first and last name.

Typos/Poor Grammar - Emails sent by popular companies are almost always free of misspellings and

grammatical errors.

False Sense of Urgency - Many scam emails tell you that your account will be in jeopardy if something critical

is not updated right away.

Fake Links - Check where a link is going before you click by hovering over the URL in an email, and

comparing it to the URL in the browser. If it looks suspicious, don't click.

Attachments - A real email from PayPal will never include an attachment. Because they can contain spyware

or viruses, you should never open an attachment unless you are 100% sure it's legitimate."