Statistics by the Radicati Group in March 2018 estimated the number of email accounts worldwide at 3.8 billion and the number of consumer and business emails sent per day in 2018 at more than 281 billion. So to say that people in the business area get a lot of emails is a gross understatement! Add to this, the estimate by online source LifeWire that 2.3% of emails that have malicious attachments and these numbers get even scarier! Continue reading to find out what the dangers of unknown emails are and how can you counteract these hazards?
What’s the Damage?
There are three hazards to opening email that are malicious in nature: spyware, phishing scams and ransomware. Spyware allows a third party on to your computer to examine data and personal information. Phishing is a direct attempt at gaining usernames and passwords. Finally, ransomware is a means of locking your computer or system so that you can not access information until you pay a ransom.
Red Flags
For many of us who have hundreds of emails to open and get through daily, we click without thinking. It will take a change in mindset to train yourself to look for these red flags so you do not fall victim of these three scams.
- Look for impersonal greetings like Dear Sir or Ma’am. This shows that the sender does not know you and may not have good intentions. Also be on the lookout for a misspelling of your name either first or last.
- Strange attachments should also raise a red flag. For example, if an attachment is an executable file that will actively run a program on your machine do not open. These files end in extensions like “.exe,” “.com,” “.bat,” or “.scr” (or, more cleverly, a double extension like “.doc.exe”).
- Personal requests are also a red flag. If an email is claiming to be a vendor or client and they are asking for personal information, call that person rather than give it out in an email. Be sure the person stated in the email is actually the sender.
- Avoid masked hyperlinks that redirect you to another location that may be riddled with viruses or malware.
- Do not open emails with a subject line that is a threat or makes a demand.
- Verify all web links before clicking on them.
- Only open attachments you explicitly requested.
If you have an email problem please contact our office and ask us to assess your email and how it is being filtered. We can also help train your employees on what to look for that will raise red flags. Call M&H Consulting at 1-866 964-8324 or visit our website.
Categorised in: antimalware, antispyware, antivirus, Security