Reminder: Be careful online!

We all deal with plenty of email spam, and while a lot of it is just annoying, some can be very dangerous. Today I found the following email from the Gmail Team in my inbox:

First, thanks to Gmail for saving me the trouble of actually seeing this email and going into a virus-scanning paranoid frenzy.

A quick google search showed that some similar emails pretending to be from Chase Paymentech (which is a real company) have been going around for the past year, and some actually look and sound pretty legitimate -- not "you're the only heir of a distant relative in Nigeria" sort of spam. The email attachments in these messages download all sorts of malware, notably Trojan.Zeus which monitors your activity to look for usernames and passwords.

So what can you do to protect yourself? 

First, a good email service will filter out most of the bad stuff for you -- a great benefit to Gmail.

Second, always be skeptical and pay attention to the details of the email. For example, I'm familiar with Chase, but what exactly is Chase Paymentech and why would they be sending me a "Merchant Statement"? Also, it was sent to my AOL email address, which has been a collector of spam and suspicious emails since I was in middle school. I certainly don't have any financial things sent to that email address. Spam is generally not targeted all that well -- that is why it is spam! -- so there should be things about it that don't make sense.

Third, make sure you keep your computer safe. The annoying popup nagging you to restart your computer is there for a good reason. There are always new vulnerabilities that are being discovered and exploited. Update your computer when updates become available, particularly for Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Flash. Adequate virus protection will also help you out. I have used Kapersky and Norton in the past, which are generally good products. There are also some free options, like Avast, which offer very basic protection if you're cheap like me!

Always remember to be careful, be skeptical, and when in doubt, don't click on any links!

Can I go back to college now?

Since graduating college, I haven't been able to get the opening line of "It Sucks to Be Me" from Avenue Q out of my head. So what do you with a B.A. in English (or other equally useless degree)? It's tough in this economy, and I'm starting to miss the days of dorm living and prepaid meal plans...almost.

Here are some considerations for new, unemployed grads:

Living expenses
It's pretty difficult to afford to live on your own with a small or nonexistent income. Consider finding roommates, or even moving back with your parents. It may cut into your sense of independence, but will preserve your bank account! For food, make sure you have your local grocery store discount card and look out for deals. You don't have to eat ramen noodles every night if you're a smart shopper.

Work on paying off debt
You may have a substantial amount of debt in the form of credit cards or student loans. Work to pay off the credit card debt as soon as possible, as those interest rates are likely the highest. You can save student loans for last, since the interest rates are generally lower, but try to make small payments if possible even if you have forbearance and aren't required to make payments for a while. Getting out of debt sooner means you'll pay less in the long run, and will also make you feel less burdened.

Plan to maximize your income
If your just starting out in the industry of your choice, congratulations! Work hard and hustle for promotions as you go. If your employer offers you perks like tuition assistance for education or certification that will help you move up the ranks, take advantage.

Go back to school
Going back to school may be a great option to open up your career possibilities and ultimately earn more. However, if you plan to go back to school for a higher degree, make sure you do your homework and you can have a reasonable expectation that it won't backfire and leave you still un(der)employed and in more debt! Many job markets right now, such as law firm jobs for new lawyers, are completely saturated and unlikely to improve, even by the time you will graduate. Some options, like medical school, require a pretty heavy "investment" just for the application process.

Good luck!

How to Detect an Email Scam

So much of our lives has moved online lately, and that includes finances. Any decent bank has an online banking system where users can log in, view their statements, and make payments or transfer money between different accounts. This is incredibly convenient, but has also made identity theft and online scams much more common. Most of these scams are fairly obvious [a rich old lady who wants to wire you several million dollars?], but sometimes you find something in your inbox that looks pretty legit. So how can you detect a scam?

1. What does the sender want you to do? If you are being asked to provide information such as usernames, passwords, account numbers, or other personal information, run the other way! Legitimate banks will never ask for this information directly. If the email appears to be from an institution where you have an account, call that institution directly and tell them about the email. More likely than not, it is a phishing attack.

2. See where any links in the emails will take you before clicking them! In most browsers you can do this by hovering over the link with your mouse.  The url it leads to should show up in the bottom corner. If it doesn't match what the body of the message says, or is an unintelligible string of numbers and letters, don't click! If it ends in .exe, it's even more dangerous -- this could be malware.

3. Check the domain name of the email sender or any sites mentioned in the email. Sometimes the name that shows up looks like a real person or company, but the domain is completely different. Also, the domain might contain the name of a real company, but will be slightly different or look strange.

4. Look out for incorrect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and awkward wording. Real companies hire people to check this stuff, but a lot of scams are run out of foreign countries where English isn't the language of the land. Nonstandard English should tip you off right away.

Always be careful online! In addition to using the above tips, make sure your computer has adequate virus protection, avoid sketchy websites, and pick strong passwords, especially for your financial stuff!