Remember the classic story from grade school? "The dog ate my homework." Maybe not such a popular (or remembered!) excuse nowadays, it sure was popular "way back when." Fast-forward to today, when a similar story is used by internet-based crooks to con people out of important personal information - the password to their e-mail account. In my private computer practice, several of my clients have reported getting an e-mail that allegedly comes directly from their e-mail provider. I'm not going to mention any names, but this seems to hit hard at those online, web-based mail systems. Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail have all seen this scam. The mail message looks very official and basically says the provider needs to "confirm your e-mail address and other information." The message even includes a link for you to click on, to take you directly to the e-mail system's "information page" so you can fill in needed data, including your e-mail address and the account password. Don't ever fall for this!
This is a complete scam. Every e-mail provider will tell you they will never ask for your information. If you get one of those e-mails, either delete it or use whatever tools are included in your e-mail account to report it to the "abuse" department of your provider. Here's what happens to those that fall victim to this scam: Once the "bad guys" have your e-mail address and password, their first move is to go to your e-mail account and change the password - you're locked out of your own e-mail account!
You might wonder what good it does for a scammer to have an e-mail account? After all, there's no important personal or financial data there (or shouldn't be). But the answer is this: Once the bad guys can get into your account, they also have access to your address book - all the names and e-mail addresses of friends, family and business associates. And when they have that information, that's when the scam really kicks into high gear.
Using your e-mail address book, the scammers send out an e-mail - from your account - that says something like, "Hello... I'm stuck in Europe and ran out of money. Can you lend me some cash to get home? I'll pay you back when I get home." And they supply their own money-wiring account information. Friends and others who get the message may indeed fall for the scam - I've seen it happen! They wire off to someone they think is you, but it's going to the scammers account!
That's just one of the many ways e-mail scammers have to profit from unsuspecting victims. Remember - never give your e-mail account password to anyone! It's the online equivalent of giving a stranger your "PIN" (Personal Identification Number) for your ATM card. Don't respond to e-mail requests for this kind of information, just delete them from your inbox. Some e-mail providers also have a reporting function, which lets you forward suspicious messages to the company for review. You can try that if you'd like, but I can tell you for sure that e-mail providers are well aware of the problem, and are (we hope) working hard on a solution. My advice: just hit the delete key or button, and know you've done your part.
Bill Sklodowski is a writer, teacher and webmaster who offers Small Office / Home Office professionals help with PC's and in using their "digital assets" to market their business, practice or service. Get a free special report, "Your Computer, Your Business" by visiting Bill's blog: http://www.PCHelpForSmallBusiness.com
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