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Panic can cause a world of hurt and lead us to make quick, poor decisions. Data thieves and hackers understand the value of panic and work to create this feeling to trick us into bad choices.

Have you ever received an email or a notice on your screen that you’ve made some grave error and you need to follow the instructions to fix it or else! Many times, these “alerts” are not helping you, but rather trying to panic you into making that very same error.

“Your password has been compromised! Click here to fix it now!”

“Your device has been infected! Call us to remove the virus now!”

“Your password will expire in1 hour! Click here to enter your new password or lose all access to your email!”

“Your bank account has been hacked. Click to reset your online PIN immediately!”

The basic formula? You are at risk. The need is immediate. You must act NOW!

If you feel that sense of panic, we encourage you to do the following:

STOP! Pause. Verify.

To verify, never click the links or call the numbers in the notification that is causing panic. Contact your email provider, tech support team, bank or other institution directly using numbers you know. If you are a customer of Convergent Design, please feel free to email, text or call us with your question.

We live in an online world where bad players want to cause harm. Let’s become vigilant and not become our own worst enemy.

And remember… if it causes panic, STOP! Pause. Verify.

Scams via email come in all shapes and sizes. These email scams often try to steal your personal information, gain access to your online accounts or place a virus on your devices. There are things you can watch to help protect yourself.

1. Watch for incorrect email addresses. Large, trusted organizations like banks, retailers and government offices will never us a generic email provider like Hotmail.com or even Gmail.com.
2. Spelling errors. While spelling errors can happen to the best of us, bad spelling can be an indication of a scam.
3. Scare tactics! If the email creates a sense of panic that you must act now, STOP! Pause for a moment before taking any action. If the email is asking you for sensitive information like your social security number, bank pin or email password, do not click any links or call any numbers in the email. Contact your institution or tech support directly to verify the email is legitimate.
4. Suspicious links. Hover over links in an email and your device will often tell you where that link points. If it is taking you to a website that you do not know, don’t click.
5. Attachments. Only open attachments from trusted sources and even then, be careful and verify. Attacks like ransomware and viruses are often placed on a device when a user opens an attachment that was not legitimate.

The content of this post was based on a flyer from Security Federal Bank and the American Bankers Association. They offer more help at BanksNeverAskThat.com.

If you are a customer of Convergent Design, please feel free to email, text or call us with spam related questions.