Some messages are more suspicious than others, but be especially cautious if the email has any of the characteristics listed below:
- it claims it’s not a hoax
- it promises money or gift certificates for performing some action
- it offers instructions or attachments claiming to protect you from a virus that is undetected by anti-virus software
- it suggests tragic consequences for not performing some action
- there are multiple spelling or grammatical errors, or the logic is contradictory
- there is a statement urging you to forward the message
- it has already been forwarded multiple times (evident from the trail of email headers in the body of the message)
If you want to check the validity of an email, there are some websites that provide information about hoaxes and urban legends:
- Urban Legends and Folklore – http://urbanlegends.about.com
- McAfee Security Virus Hoaxes – http://home.mcafee.com/VirusInfo/VirusHoaxes.aspx
Contact
If you’d like to discuss any issues or concerns about data security, please contact robbie.walker@port.ac.uk or mike.meredith@port.ac.uk. You can also read the IS Security blog at http://securityblog.port.ac.uk.
Web Coder
August 30, 2012
Very useful tips.