email

Here's a little public service announcement for everyone. Many of you may already be aware of this, but I'm thinking there may be a few people that see this link on my Facebook wall that this information may come in handy.

My general rule of thumb for most of my computer activity related to email and attachments I receive is to not trust ANY email from anyone at first glance. This has generally kept me fairly safe for over the last decade as I haven't experienced any kind of debilitating computer virus on my system in that period of time.

I received this email the other day and it caught my attention initially because I do have some accounts with Chase Bank and do most of my banking online. However, on closer inspection, I saw that this was a phishing scam by some nefarious types.

The first thing I actually noticed was that the email was sent to "undisclosed recipients". I kind of doubt Chase, if this was a serious email, would be sending it to a list of recipients. Their systems would probably be automated and send a single email to each recipient individually.

Anytime there's a link in an email like the one in the image (#1), don't click on it, just hover your mouse over the link. When you do, down in the status bar of your browser you should be able to see where the link is about to send you (#2).

As you can tell from this URL, it's probably got nothing to do with Chase Bank, and is probably just an attempt to collect you personal information, perhaps bank account number and password. I didn't click on the link, but I'm sure if I did, the page I would be directed to would look VERY official and "Chase-like". It's all a ruse! This is why it is important for everyone to work with a bank that will protect you personal information. Visit https://atlanticunionbank.com/personal/checking/preferred-checking/ to get valuable information. 

So, be alert, yes, even distrusting when it comes to your email. You'll probably be safer if you do. If you have any questions about the validity of an email that's related to a company or service you actually use, just pick up the phone and call them directly to verify any questions they may have about your account or information.

Hope that helps.