Stay Safe from Online Email, Phishing, Social Media, Malware and Other Scams this Holiday Season: Proofpoint's Seven Simple Rules

Hard to believe it's the holiday season already, but the here in the US, Thanksgiving is next week, bringing with it what are usually two of the biggest shopping days of the year—so called "Black Friday" (the day after Thanksgiving) and "Cyber Monday" (the Monday after Thanksgiving). Spammers and scammers traditionally observe these days as well, increasing their holiday themed scams at this time.

So, as is traditional this time of year, Proofpoint has issued its updated list of rules for staying safe online during the busy holiday shopping season. Longtime Proofpoint followers will remember our "Five Golden Rules" for online safety, but things have gotten so bad this year that we expanded the list with two new tips... making this "Seven Simple Rules."

You can find the full press release, "Stay Safe Online This Holiday Season by Following Proofpoint’s Seven Simple Rules," here, but I've reproduced the rules themselves below. Feel free to share these with your email users, friends and family!

1. Be aware: View with suspicion any email with requests for personal IDs, financial information, user names or passwords. Your bank, online services, government agencies or legitimate online stores are unlikely to ask you for this type of information via email. Consumers should also be suspicious of similar emails that appear to come from an employer or friend. Never send personal financial information such as credit card numbers and Social Security numbers via email.

Today’s malicious emails and phishing attacks are disguised as communications from all sorts of organizations, including government agencies, software vendors and money transfer services, as these examples from the Proofpoint Email Security Blog show.

2. Don’t click: If you receive a suspicious email, don’t click the links in the email or open file attachments from anything but 100 percent trusted sources. Links embedded in emails may take you to fraudulent sites that look similar or identical to the legitimate “spoofed” site. Instead of clicking, open a browser and type the actual Web address for the site into the address bar. Alternatively, call the company using a phone number you already know.

3. Be secure: When you are shopping online, entering important information such as credit card numbers, or updating personal information, make sure you’re using a secure Web site. If you are on a secure Web server, the Web address will begin with “https://” instead of the usual “http://”. Most Web browsers also show an icon (such as Internet Explorer’s “padlock” icon) to indicate that the page you are viewing is secure.

4. Don’t fill out email forms: Never fill out forms within an email, especially those asking for personal information. Instead, visit the company’s actual Web site and ensure that the page you are using is secure before entering sensitive information.

5. Keep an eye on your accounts: Check the accuracy of your credit card and bank statements on a regular basis, especially during this time of continued economic unease and during the holiday shopping season. If you see anything suspicious, contact the financial institution immediately.

6. Get social media savvy: Email isn’t the only attack vector used by spammers and scammers. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly used to deliver the same kinds of scams and malicious links to unsuspecting users. Spammers and malware writers are riding the social media wave, commonly using malicious, but convincing, emails that masquerade as notifications such as friend requests or message notifications. Keep all of the preceding tips in mind when using the latest communication tools.

7. Make security your first stop: If your holiday includes giving or receiving a new computer, netbook or upgraded operating system, install a good desktop anti-virus or Internet security solution before doing anything else online. Reputable vendors include F-Secure, McAfee and Symantec. Be extremely wary of Web pop-ups that offer “free security scans” or that inform you that your machine is infected with a virus. Such offers commonly lead to fraudulent anti-virus solutions that are actually malicious software.

However you choose to observe them, make it a happy and safe holiday season!