Opening any email is not harmful to your computer no matter who it is from. It can be the contents of Opening any email is not harmful to your computer no matter who it is from. It can be the contents of the email either a hyperlink, or attachment that can pose a SEVERE risk of infection, if clicked on or opened. BE SMART!
Consider the email belowemail either a hyperlink, or attachment that can pose a SEVERE risk of infection, if clicked on or opened. BE SMART!
First thing to do is look over the email for anomalies. This particular email “Looks Pretty Authentic”. According to this email it says that my subscription to Geek Squad will renew the day I received this email.
Second: OBSERVE the email address of the sender. This identification tells you whether the email is bogus. The email address did not come from Geek Squad (Best Buy). It came from a Gmail address.
Large businesses DO NOT use Gmail, only regular people do!
Third: In the salutation it says, “Dear Consumer” which is another identifier that the email is bogus. If you purchased anything on the web, you have to fill out a form with your contact information. Once the item is paid for, you will receive a confirmation email and IT WON’T SAY “Dear Consumer” or “Dear Customer”. It will have your name in the salutation. End result is that you DID NOT buy anything NO MATTER what the email says.
Special Note: There is a phone number highlighted in RED throughout the email to call. Do yourself a HUGE favor and DO NOT call the number. Calling the number will get you to a person who is going to try to sell you some kind of computer support package.
In conclusion, ALWAYS look at the email address first. Then compare the email address to the contents of the email. If they don’t coincide, then the email is bogus. Within your email program mark it as SPAM or JUNK. This will help if you get any future emails from the sender to go right into the Spam (Junk) folder.
More Tips:
- Be OBSERVANT!
- Look for glaring misspellings or awkward grammar, sentence structure or syntax
- The email wording feels “off”
- Use your common sense
- The KEY is looking at the sender’s email address. Where is the email coming from? Compare the sender’s email address with the body of the
- Ask yourself questions. Some examples: Do I bank there? Do I have an account with the email sender? Do I use their service? Did I actually buy something from the email sender?
-Be conscientious because some of these emails can look pretty authentic. Falls back on looking at the email sender.
More Tips Continued:
- This is NOT personal
- Please DON’T be GULLIBLE!
- Be cautious of email from people you know. The possibility exists that their email has been hijacked. That means that their password has been compromised by a Ask yourself, would a family member or friend send me a message like the one I received? If you think their email has been compromised, please inform them of it.
By Scot Gerardi, owner of Scot Fixes PCs
Scot Gerardi is a retired Desktop Support professional. He has 42 total years experience in corporate and working himself. He specializes in resolving software problems. Some notable places where Scot has worked, AT&T Bell Laboratories and Merck. He created his own company Scot Fixes PCs for 15 years. Scot’s credentials are: A BS in Computer Science, Microsoft Certified Professional, Comptia Network+ Professional, Dell Certified Technician and a Malware Removal Specialist. Scot bought his very first desktop computer in the early 80’s for $4,000.