ANTI-SPAM

– Run a consolidated email filtering solution at your email gateway, and use a good AV product.
– If you don’t know who sent it, especially if you are not in the TO: or CC: part, delete it.
– If the subject looks mangled so it could get by perimeter spam sensors, delete it.
– Have a good email policy in your business or organization, and also for your family at home.
– Don’t open email attachments unless you are prepared to infect your computer with a virus.
– Never ever open unsolicited MS Word or MS Excel or any other MS Office document.
– Never make a purchase from an unsolicited email, or give out your credit card numbers.
– Use a disposable email address when signing up for websites to avoid unsolicited email.
– Don’t click the unsubscribe link, which can add your email address to more spam lists.
– Avoid using the preview functionality of your email client software to avoid inadvertent infection.
– Don’t post your email address on every single message board you visit like some people do.
– When mass mailing, use BCC (blind carbon copy) to conceal recipients from one another.

ANTI-PHISHING

– Phishers make a fake site that looks like the real website to collect private information.
– Never respond to emails that request personal financial information or identity information.
– Banks or e-commerce companies generally personalize emails, while phishers do not.
– Visit bank sites by typing https://www.bank.com to have a securely encrypted connection.
– No matter how well you think you know someone from the internet, you don’t know them at all.
– Vigilently keep good track of your finances and credit report to check for suspicious activity.
– If you’re unsure of a link, search for the URL in a search engine to check its legitimacy.
– Use the latest version of your favorite Internet browser and allow script only on sites you trust.
– Keep your computer patched with all of the latest updates from your operating system vendor.
– If you think your bank has emailed you, call don’t click. Especially if it seems very urgent.
    Ask a customer service representative for help on the phone.
– If your financial institution calls you: hang up, call them back. Always initiate the call.
– Phishers often send false but sensational messages to socially engineer you:
      (“urgent – your account details may have been stolen”)

Following these steps cannot keep you 100% safe but it will reduce your risk against attack.