What I learned this week - Well I learned that there are bad players out there and you can't trust everyone.  And most importantly I learned to make sure to really check the email addresses of unknown people who send you things.  I could have avoided a lot of disappointment if I had noticed that.  Here are some of the tips I shared in the episode. 

1 - There are all different types of scams going on out there.  I hadn't thought someone would scam for a job but that makes sense as you give them a lot of senstitive info.  Scams to send money to a randome friend you haven't seen in a while.  Scams of warranties or gift card scames.  People pretending to be your bank, the social security administration or someone from work needing some information.  Even a scam with a delivery company.  Be careful especially when getting unsolicited emails. 

2- Don't give away any personal information online.   Banks are not going to send you an email asking for your password and such or your bank info.  Just don't give away any personal info especially if you don't trust the site, social media person and email that you got.  

3- Look really closely at the email address if you get some alarming or unsolicited email.  It usually looks like it's close to a real address but some of the address will be off.  Look closely.

The email addresses - To” field contains multiple random email address or is alphabetized

Impersonal or awkward greetings, such as “Dear Mr. account holder”

4- Don't click on the link or the receipt of whatever.  Check the email first and then see if it is legit.  That is where they put the virus or malware. 

5 - Don't buy into the urgency.  That is sometimes where they get you.  You are alarmed and they say you only have a day to resolve the issue and then your account is frozen or closed or something.  You will normally get plenty of time to respond to an issue with your  bank, social security or even any bill that you have.  

6- If it seems to good to be true - it probably is.  Sadly, like this great job opportunity, it seemed so awesome and easy, the pay great and easy to get the job and well it was too good to be true.  

Here is a list of the different types of scams going on and their names: From Texas Tech University

Spam is unsolicited email, instant messages, or social media messages. These messages are fairly easy to spot and can be damaging if you open or respond. 

Phishing is an email sent from an Internet criminal disguised as an email from a legitimate, trustworthy source.  The message is to lure you into giving away sensitive information.  

Here were a few other types of scammer =

Spear Phishing occurs when criminals obtain information about you from websites or social networking sites, and customize a phishing scheme to you.

Spoofing describes a criminal who impersonates another individual or organization, with the intent to gather personal or business information.

Pharming is a malicious website that resembles a legitimate website, used to gather usernames and passwords.