Javea Grapevine Issue 176 - LARGE FONT EDITION | Page 87

look official and often include a link
to a fake website (that looks like
the real thing) for the victim to click
and enter personal information or
passwords, financial information,
etc. Scammers collect this data
and use it for identity theft.
Remember: no legitimate financial
institution will ever ask for your
personal or account information
via email.
Any email that requests such
information should be deleted
immediately. That is always the
“tell” with any phishing scam.
You should never click on a link
in any e-mail that says it is from
a bank.
It is always best to enter the web
address for the financial institution
in your Internet browser and do
all banking and bill paying from
there.
Most banks now have trust words
or trust icons.
Also, a good idea is to eliminate
the spam, which will eliminate
the “phishing.”

Avoiding Pop-ups, Unwanted
Toolbars, and other Harmful
Downloads is also a wise thing
to do.
Internet users need to understand
that a good chunk of “free
software” makes a profit in other
ways.
While some of these methods for
earning a profit are legitimate,
others are completely fraudulent.
For
example:
free
screensavers
and
smilies
(which advertisements often
target
inexperienced
and
older demographics) are often
accompanied
by unwanted
toolbars, spyware, adware or
worse: viruses.
You can also read reviews of
software you are considering
downloading.
If a download has something
unwanted packaged with it, you
will usually find user reviews
stating so.
When downloading or installing
software (from any source), there