Often I have to look no further than my email mailbox to find the latest scams and today is no exception.  I received an email yesterday that purported to be from UPS.  The UPS logo was prominently featured and had I not known better, the address of the sender appeared to be from UPS.  The email explained that a package I recently sent was not delivered because the recipient’s address was erroneous.  I was then instructed to click on a link to download a new shipping label.  There was just one minor problem with the email.  I had not sent a UPS package for more than a year.  If I had clicked on the link, I would have downloaded a keystroke logging malware program that would have stolen all of the information from my computer and made me a victim of identity theft.

TIPS

You can never be sure when you get an email that it is from the person or company that it purports to be.  Never provide personal information or click on links in emails unless you are absolutely positive that the email is legitimate and the only way you can be sure of that is to contact the company, preferably by phone to confirm that the email is legitimate and that it is safe to click on the link or provide the requested information.  Additionally, however, you should be hesitant to provide personal information to every company that asks for it unless there is a very good reason for them having your information.  In this era of the hacker, the more places that have your personal information, the greater the danger to you of identity theft.