I Didn't Order That?

Think before you Click!

So frustrating, isn't it? Our technology tools provide ways of interacting, serving one another and much more. However, so do those that want to shortcut these systems.

Recently, a spam that appears to come from Amazon, confirming your order showed up in Inboxes everywhere. You see, this particular spam was pretty good.

You are working hard, check your Inbox, and wow, there's an order confirmation from Amazon for a $742.61 44 inch LED TV. Your first impulse is, wow, I didn't order that, wish I had been able to, but I can't afford that right now. And, after those initial couple of seconds of wondering how in the world you would have mistakenly ordered something that expensive, your second impulse is to click on the item and check it out.

You click, and an Amazon looking web site pops up, you log in and, uh oh!! You're caught, and you didn't even know it. These spammers now have your Amazon account information. Beyond just getting into your Amazon account, if your like me, you have Amazon Prime, a Kindle, Amazon Streaming and just about every Amazon tool offered. This spammer now can order, read and watch movies, books, whatever, using your money!

Many online services are setting up two factor authentication. You can turn it on for Google right now.. Two factor authentication provides two different sets of authentication before you can get into a service. I'm guessing we'll see Amazon provide this soon, and when they do, I'd recommend using it.

For now, here are some precautions:

• As hard as it is, set up different passwords for your services. This prevents one account compromise from spilling over to another. For example, we recommend you don't use your Letnet credentials for anything else but Letnet.
• When you get an email from a service you use, FedEx, your bank, Amazon, etc., don't click on the email you get. Go to their web site outside of your email, log in and review your account and orders there. For example, in this instance, go to http://amazon.com first, don't click on the order in your email.
• Always hover over a link in an email, if your device allows it, and check out the link before clicking. In this case, you can quickly see it's not from amazon.com.

It's a frustrating world we live in.God has called us as His servants to have dominion over what He has created. Our fallen sinful nature enters into our calling, and we continue to learn to be diligent together.