The Internet has become essential in our lives, and I have become quite comfortable breezing through stacks of electronic correspondence every day. The other night I received an e-mail that appeared to be legit. It mentioned that my service account needed to be updated, and that service would not be interrupted if I responded within 24 hours. The e-mail read, “If you could please take 5-10 minutes out of your online experience and update your personal records so you will not run into any future problems with the online service. However, any failure in updating your records will result an account suspension.”
Of course this got my attention, so I clicked the link and was routed to a page that asked for standard registration—and then some. I started to complete the form with my name and e-mail address, and then I noticed something suspicious: The form asked for very personal information, including my social security number, a credit card number and my mother’s maiden name. Red flags, red flags—what had I gotten myself into?
I immediately aborted the completion of the form and contacted the help line. I was relieved that my provider offered a 24/7 chat service to help customers with emergencies such as this. The consultant confirmed my suspicions: I’d been spoofed. This e-mail had not been sent by my provider, and criminal intent might be involved. Luckily, I caught on before I divulged information that could have had long-lasting effects. The helper advised me to do things to avoid further issues, such as to change my password and security question on the account. I also reported the incident to my provider's abuse department for investigation; perhaps I will save a lot of people a lot of damage. I have also taken additional security precautions with my computer.
Find out what's happening in Fountain Valleyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Because we get comfortable with online experiences, it’s easy to let your guard down. And with the speed of action computers give us to enjoy, we can also be conned with that same great speed. As a reminder to all, be on guard when online. Use common sense and good judgment, and as they used to say on the classic TV drama Hill Street Blues, “Let’s be careful out there!”