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What to watch out for:
Hoax email, social media messages or unfamiliar URLs or Links
Subjects include interesting topics to capture curious victims
- Current news stories
- Requests for charity, especially helping war victims
- Sign an online petition
- Answer a survey
Cyber criminals use hoax emails and social media messages to trick recipients into installing malware on their computers. This malware can collect information from the infected computer and allow criminals to remotely control the computer.
How do you protect yourself? - Prevention is more important than ever!
Beware of any E-mail that:
- Requires you to enter any personal information or account information directly
into the email or sends you to a web page that asks for similar information.
- Threatens to close your account if you do not take the immediate
action of providing personal information.
- Asks you to reply by sending personal information or asks you to enter your User ID,
password, or account numbers into an e-mail or non-secure web page.
Beware of unfamiliar URLs or links embedded in E-mails or when browsing the WEB:
- Don’t click on any links or open files included in unsolicited emails or social media messages.
- Be careful were you surf! “drive by malware” can infect your computer just by browsing the malicious website.
- Frequently change your Internet Service account passwords. Use multifactor authentication
were available.
- Carefully review your account history for suspicious transactions and report them immediately
to the service provider.
- Keep your Anti-Virus software up to date.
If you suspect the attacker has captured sensitive information:
- Change all effected passwords immediately.
- Monitor your account activity frequently.
- Report any suspicious activity to the IT Helpdesk.
Email and computers are a potential gateway for hackers, viruses, and other impropriety. Here are 5 quick tips to help you stay safe and secure.
1. Stay watchful and cautious.
It’s easy for an unauthorized person to email you and pretend to be a vendor or business partner. Be cautious and double-check before responding to sensitive requests.
2. Do not reuse passwords.
Using one password for all of your accounts is a mistake. You should also have an entirely unique password for each of your accounts.
3. Change your passwords regularly.
Changing your passwords regularly will help to reduce the risk of your password falling into the wrong hands over time.
4. Beware of phishing scams.
Hackers will imitate and impersonate high-profile websites (e.g., eBay, Amazon, Facebook, etc.) and say that they’re experiencing trouble with your account; all you have to do to fix it is to send them your username and password to verify your authenticity. Watch out for these scams!
5. If you see something, say something.
Most importantly, report any suspicious behavior to the TCC IT Help Desk.
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