Massive data breach affects you 4/22/2011
Q. I read your Privacy Tip about the recent massive Epsilon data breach. I also got email notifications from companies I deal with online. Now, however, I received an email directly from Epsilon asking me to download a program. Is this a legitimate email?
-David from Uniontown, PA, listens to my national radio show on WPGB 104.7 FM
A. This data breach reported by a company by the name of Epsilon keeps getting more and more interesting. Epsilon handled the email marketing campaigns for major companies like Chase, Best Buy, Target and others. More than 2,500 companies use Epsilon to manage their client email lists.
If you bought anything from any of these companies or registered your email address with them, your name and email address could have been compromised. Millions of people have been affected.
Until recently, the main result of this breach was increased spam. Some people also received basic phishing email from online swindlers. That isn't very surprising.
Now, Epsilon says if you registered your name and email address at a GlaxoSmithKline Website for certain prescription and nonprescription drugs, watch out. The bad guys have your name, email address, and they also know what drugs you might be taking.
So, if you registered at the Beano Web site, some criminal is having a gas at your expense.
Things get worse. Hackers recently released a devious new scam. It is an email claiming to be from Epsilon. The email has a link to something called the "Epsilon Secure Connect Tool."
Clicking the link takes you to a very professional-looking Website. You are given the option of downloading the tool. It is supposed to confirm whether your email address was stolen.
However, the program is actually a virus that will infect your computer. It can steal personal information or install other malware. You don't want to download it.
Scams like this are going to become more common. Fortunately, you can protect yourself. You just have to follow some simple rules.
You'll want to make sure your computer has security software installed. It also needs to be up-to-date. Grab some great free security software at my Security Center.
You need to be wary when dealing with email. Don't click on email links to visit a company's site. Open your browser and type in the address manually.
Be sure to verify that the address is to a legitimate company site. You can do this with a quick Google search. Search for the company listed in the email and verify its Website address.
Never respond to an email with personal information. No company will ask you for personal information that way. Everything you need to do can be done on the company site. Of course, you can always call the company and talk to a representative.
Don't download email attachments. Again, companies never send unsolicited attachments to customers. It is most likely a scam or malicious program.
Hackers move fast when situations like this occur. You want as much warning and information as possible. If you don't receive my weekly newsletter email, you can sign up here. It's free and has lots of excellent and timely security information.
Email is still a vital form of communication. Here are some tricks for getting the most out of it:
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