It amazes me the number of people who will click suspicious links or open attachments they are not expecting. When I first started going online, way back when it was a whole new world and you used a modem that screeched and yelled at you, there was one thing that I learned quickly and have endeavoured to never forget: Do not click links you weren’t expecting. Do not open attachments you weren’t expecting. Doesn’t matter if you know the person they came from – double check! A quick message can save you so much headache.

The world is far more online now than it was when I first started my forays into forums and chat rooms, so it boggles my mind that people are not more aware of the big “no-nos” when it comes to keeping yourself safe online. The consequences nowadays are so much more than they once were.

I will admit, I’m not perfect. I’m certain I’ve clicked on a suspicious link or two in my past, and paid the price for doing so. And sometimes, despite your best efforts, you get bombed with an ad that has some sort of spyware in it and your computer gets fried. I get it, it happens.

But when you just go through your life, blindly clicking on every link that gets sent your way? Well, I’m sorry to say it, but you probably deserved whatever you got from that.

Don’t. Click. Suspicious. Links.

A good friend send you a link unexpectedly, with accompanying text saying something similar to “check this out”? Chances are you shouldn’t trust the link. But Arcia! you say, feeling a little hurt, that came from my best friend! Well, don’t click it until you’ve confirmed your friend intended to send you that link. Or attachment. Or whatever. It isn’t hard. And I would recommend you ask them on a different platform, just in case someone has gotten into their account rather than just made it send stuff out.

And you know what, while I’m talking about doing stupid things that cause you grief, I’m just gonna throw this out there. Companies will NEVER, not EVER, request that you pay them back by purchasing and providing the codes for Google Play cards, or PSN cards, or any other form of gift or product card. Will not happen. I don’t care how legitimate it seems, it isn’t. If you are really 100% certain that this is not a scam (seriously, though?) then take the time to call the number on verified correspondence from said company. Is it your phone company? Call the number on your account statement. Bank? Same deal. If you get online statements, then go to their official website. Don’t follow the link from an email or text message, but actually go and google their official website, if you don’t know the actual website address.

Links can be spoofed.

Protect yourself!

A concerned Arcia.