SPAM. It happens to everyone. Whether its a random email informing you that a foreign king wants to transfer you money or an enticing link that downloads a virus onto your computer; you’ve seen it all right? Never EVER would you fall victim to such obvious threats to your online security, right? Wrong. Just as the general public has gotten smarter to SPAM, so have spammers’ attempts to get your personal information. They’ve upgraded their look and go totally untraceable to the unsuspecting eye. However, with these five tips, you can rest assured that both your personal and business information will remain safe and secure.

1.    No matter who the email is from, always check out the link.

Just because your close colleague or friend sends you an email asking you to click a link to see their vacation pictures or watch a funny video, it’s always a good idea to hover OVER the link and see exactly where it will take you. You do this by putting your mouse over the link and looking in your bottom left-hand corner for the link address. If the address looks unfamiliar, don’t click on it. Chances are the person who sent this to you did click on the link and is now spreading a virus via email that either a) wrecks your computer b) gathers your personal information from your computer and sends it to a third party.

2.    Do NOT open attachments, unless you are completely sure of the sender.

Remember, if it’s too good to be true than it probably is. If someone random sends you an email with a “proposal”, “report”, or “graphic”, do some research before responding to them or opening the attachment. Chances are it is probably some type of SPAM and could potentially do a lot of damage once opened.

3.    Be careful who you give your email to or where you display it.

How did you even get this email? Well, you were careless with your email address. Maybe you hurriedly signed up for a deal online or for a directory without reading the site’s privacy setting and now you’re receiving hundreds of emails from foreign countries. Or maybe you left your email on a blog comment or public chat forum. Either way, spammers love when you’re careless. That’s how they’re able to contact you, annoy you, or even steal from you.

4.    Opt Out.

When asked if you’d like to subscribe to updates from this provider and their approved sponsors, just say no. Unless you really want to be bombarded with email after email claiming you’ve won a trip to Jamaica.

5.    Don’t respond.  

Under no circumstances should you respond to the emails in any way. The last thing you want is for the spammers to see any kind of engagement on your end because this signals to them that your email address is active and that they still have a target to aim for.

In essence, we’re not saying you should delete every email you receive but we do warn you to take heed. Spammers are highly sophisticated now and it always pays to be cautious. Anyways, how embarrassing is it to have to apologize to everyone in your office for sending around a computer virus? Yeah, we thought so. Happy emailing!