Scams, Spam, and Phishing Oh My

Somehow, I’ve ended up on somebody’s business news email list. I’m not talking about just one publication here, I’m talking about dozens. And some of them send emails several times a day.

It’s ticked me off enough that I’m reporting them all as spam. My other option is to unsubscribe, but I know clicking on the “unsubscribe” option in the email can result in another deluge of emails. It’s telling them someone is there. Besides, Gmail tells me to report it as spam if I didn’t sign up for it. So spam it is.

In today’s world, these petty annoyances are commonplace. I’m not sure how I ended up on this email list, but I did. I’m not sure how long I’ll have to deal with it, but I expect for awhile. New publications pop up daily. It’s better than some of the other spam tricks I’ve seen, such as the email telling me my purchase has been confirmed and to “click here” for more information. In case you didn’t know, that’s a common spam trick.

My mom is susceptible to spam. Fortunately, while she has an email address, she doesn’t know what it is or how to access it. She also doesn’t text. So my only worry about her being taken in by some con is via phone, and she doesn’t typically answer her phone unless she knows who’s calling. She’s been a victim of fraud twice before, so hopefully it doesn’t happen again.

We get training on a regular basis at work about spam or phishing emails, and apparently I’ve fallen for a few of their test emails. I knew about one, but not the other. Regardless, I now have to go to an hour-long seminar about phishing. The one I fell for was clever. It looked like a real email from our HR department telling us we could no longer wear jeans to work. I panicked. I don’t even know what size I wear in regular slacks and I don’t own any (my wardrobe is pathetic, I know).

So beware of emails that play on your emotions. They may be phishing.

These days, despite what happened at work, I’m pretty aware of spam and phishing. But I worry that the day may come when I’m not, or technology has changed to a point that I don’t even know what the current scams are. At work, as I mentioned, we get a lot of training about this, but I won’t always be working. What happens if my mind starts to go, as my mom’s has, and I fall victim to some trick?

The Bible tells us not to worry about tomorrow because today has enough trouble of its own. I try to heed that, but late at night, when I can’t fall asleep, my mind goes spinning in its own direction and I don’t have the energy to stop it. I have to force myself to wake up enough that I can pray the worrisome thoughts away, but that’s difficult.

The only thing I can do is stay up-to-date with what’s happening now and trust that there will be others who will help take care of me when I’m no longer able to take care of myself. That one’s tough as well, but at least I pray about it when I’m wide awake.

Image Credits: Email © The 2R Artificiality–stock.adobe.com; Women in Jeans © Royal Ability–stock.adobe.com