What is SPAM ?
SPAM is a term that was coined to describe the junk email that people receive in their inbox.
This email is normally both unsolicited (i.e. you didn't ask to receive it) and bulk (i.e. is sent simlutaneously to thousands or millions of people at the same time).
How did the spammer get my email address?
There are many ways that a spammer can obtain your email address without your consent.
- If you are ever invited to enter your address on a web site then there is the possibility that the site operator may be selling their email database to spammers.
- An email address listed on a web page (e.g. sales@some.domain) will most likely attract spam as there are a number of spammers that build up lists of addresses displayed on websites.
- If your address is easy to guess (e.g. mary@some.domain) you may receive spam as some spammers will target a domain (e.g. hotmail.com) and then send email to addresses starting with common first names.
What is Phishing ?
Phishing is the act of sending email to a user falsely claiming to be a legitimate enterprise (e.g. a high-street bank or online auction web site) in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft / fraud.
The email directs the user to visit a web site where they are asked to update personal information such as passwords, credit card or bank account numbers that the legitimate organisation already has. The web site made to look like the real one is however bogus and setup only to steal the users information.
As a rule of thumb, never disclose information which could be used to pretend to be you. This obviously include any login and password, but you should as well take care to not reveal your full name, birthdate, address, mother maiden name as those information are often used by banks to identify you.
Should you have any doubt about the content of an email or website, please contact our support department where one of our member of staff will be more than happy to help you.
Exa Network will never request your login, password or credit card information per email.
