Hi Everyone. A few of you have emailed to ask me about the story concerning people hacking into online bank accounts. Here’s what I know….and it’s very disturbing. Sometimes you may get an email that says you have received a greeting card from so and so. Make sure it’s legit, because if it’s not, that’s one way you can become a victim of the banking scheme. When you click on the link to the greeting card, you are actually downloading a “trojan program”that will be on your computer the next time you go to your banking site. I interviewed Computer Science Professor Kenneth Atchinson at Baldwin-Wallace College. He told me that when you go to your banking site and type in your information, like I.D. and password, this trojan program will be able to grab it from the key strokes and there goes your personal information….and your money. Atchinson said the best prevention is not to click on those mysterious email links in the first place. If you do, and you suspect you are infected, scan your computer for viruses….update your antivirus program…or reload your computer system. He says, however, that online banking is okay as long as your computer is secure with up-to-date antivirus. Also, remember that some greeting card emails are legit. Usually they’ll give a company name like American Greetings…or you’ll recognize the name of the person who sent the greeting. Let me know if you’ve run into any online schemes recently.
Debora
