In this post, I will hopefully save my reader’s serious
headaches, heartaches, and hassles. This may seem obvious to many, but when we
are so busy with everything in our lives, when we come to read our email, we want
to get in and get out as fast as possible. We want the information now and then
get on with the next daily task we need to do.
You want to get in, get your information, and get out. So, when we are quickly reading our email, we sometimes do not pause to think; especially when we are doing a lot of activity with our online banking, bill pay, use of online shopping, and popular sites such as Amazon, eBay, and PayPal.
I was reminded of this when I was reading my email today and thought I’d pass this tidbit of advice to my readers. Again, one would think that this has been covered by so many web gurus out there (such as me and others like my friend Tom Antion who recently advised about scams that thieves are using especially during the holidays. You can see his short TV blurb here).
When I was reading my email I saw this:
It was an email that is supposedly originating from PayPal.
Because as the online “Bricks to Clicks Marketing Consultant” I spend much time
on the web and use PayPal extensively, if I had been reading my email too fast
and “not thinking” I may have clicked on this link.
Just like your bank, or any credible firm, PayPal will not
request such information from you via email. This “scammer” and “thief” or “hacker”
either wants to place a virus on your computer (which would happen immediately
when you click on the link) or wants your private information. In this case the crooks want to get your PayPal information so they can get in, get your information (and money), and get out!
When you open your email, you’ll see a very “official” looking email with a link. Don’t click on this PayPal link. One hint that should clue you to the “nastiness” of this is the “length” of the link; it is very long. PayPal or any company would have a much shorter link. But this is not necessarily the case all of the time; links can be shortened with software and other programs available such as tinyurl.com/. (That’s a great tip right there. Tinyurl.com offers a service that will shorten your long web links. This is a great thing for your websites and blogs. Check it out). Here's the official "looking" email message:
Anytime you get such a link in your email that is supposedly
from PayPal, or your bank etc., it’s actually best to delete it without even
opening it. Then go directly to the site and log in at the site’s page. You may
even want to call the company (if it is your bank for instance; with PayPal and
other very large companies calling may not be the “fastest” route of
communication). You’ll quickly see that everything is just fine at the site and
nothing is required from you and the email was a scam!
Note: Here I’ve logged into PayPal and there are no Notifications
stating that I need to do anything. Sometimes, you’ll even see a notification
of a virus, or scam that is currently going on that they want you to be aware.
Please leave your comments by clicking on “comments” below.
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