Spammers and hackers are clever people, and their tactics to get us to click a link look authentic.
Yet all they want is access to your computer, so it is never worth the risk to click a link sent by someone you don't know
Here's an example...
"This is an Email Service Alert from Helpdesk. Your account has exceeded its storage limit, to re-set your account
Click Here for Validation. Inability to complete this process will render your account inactive.
Warm Regards,
Helpdesk Administrator.
"CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail communication and
any attachments may contain proprietary and privileged information for
the use of the designated recipients named above. Any unauthorized
review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not
the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and
destroy all copies of the original message."
And here is how you can be convinced it is spam:
1. Did you write to a company called Helpdesk? Probably not. Most likely, you never heard of them and surely aren't paying for a help desk service.
2. Look at the sender name...
3. Look up ecolab.com and you'll find they are a company involved in water, hygiene and energy technology. Hmmm... suspicious yet?
3. In the message above, I've disabled the Click Here link for your protection. Never click a 'Click Here' link without knowing where the link will go. Rest the mouse on the link, or right-click and you'll find it goes to: newupgradeacct@jimdo.com.
And, of course, if you look up that company, you'll find many references to email scams.
Stay safe online,
Helen