Is that link safe?

We have all received emails with links that advise you to “click here.” Or what about when you receive an email from what you feel is a trusted source and it lead you to a phishing site that looks identical to what you are normally use to seeing.

Fraud has taken the web by storm. Identity theft can not be stopped! It is a scary thought but the criminals are truly getting away with stealing your identity with out paying a penalty. They don’t necessary have to get your credit card number or know your name, it is much simpler than that! Once your identity is stolen and your credit is ruin it can not be reversed overnight.

I was checking my email and received an email from what looks like PayPal. PayPal recently updated their logo’s to prevent fraud emails and so on and so forth but the crooks have caught up. I normally receive an abundance of fraud email from banks such as Bank of America, Franklin Bank, Wells Fargo and banks as such. Since some banks has went under, I haven’t received many bank fraud emails lately.

The email I received from PayPal today stated to “Secure Your PayPal Account” Then they placed a link that gave instructions to click: https://www.paypal.com/us/webscr.php?cmd=login-runcmd=_secure

Now from the look at the above link it appears that when you click on it that it will take you to the PayPal web site. With the https, (s) meaning secure, you may really feel like this is totally legit. The truth of the matter is this is not a secure link and neither will it take you to the PayPal address by clicking on the email link. So you probably think when seeing this that it is nothing fishy about it but there is!

I received a lot of emails and since I use these services often, such a PayPal and even the bank emails that I would normally receive. So, this is how I can tell if they are truly legitimate links and if what I am looking at is the real thing.

#1. The FROM Address: The email address read: PayPal but it actually stated: PayPal@services.com. I know for myself that any email from PayPal would not end with services.com. In this case it is too obvious that this email is indeed a fraud.

#2. Never click on a link if you are unsure if it is the real thing, Instead…. Go to the link and “right click” then select “properties” from the menu options. The real link will then appear. In t his case the link revealed:

http://gk4you.ru/prog/pl_rss/id/paypal/login.php?cmd=_login-submit&dispatch=5885d80a13c0db1fa798f5a5f5ae42e71cf8ee1e360382336fe24cc0d575d12c

This is a far cry away from https://www.paypal.com/us/webscr.php?cmd=login-runcmd=_secure.

The truth of the matter is identity theft is EASY! Another key fact about it is IT CAN NOT BE STOP! This is the scary part! It is the fastest growing crime in the United Kingdom and America. Even if  the thief is caught across country; we in America don’t have the power or authority to penalize anyone. Other countries don’t have the funds or the power to convict them, there for it is UNSTOPABLE! There is one way that you can help yourself and that is by getting a company that specialize in identity theft protection.

Make sure you take caution before you click on the next link or attachment. You could be giving away your life!

TaWana Stegall
** This is NOT a paid post! **