We seniors grew up in the dark ages before the Internet and watched as it changed the world. As we struggle to adapt, our grandchildren adapt faster.

To many of us, email has become part of our daily life.

The classic email scam involves a request to send money to a destination that disappears along with the money. This column describes a less direct email scam.

Your computer stores information that you have allowed to be programmed into it. Some of it is personal or financial information you do not want broadcast to the world or make available to identity thieves and scammers.

Two of the most common ways information in your computer can be transferred outside your computer without your knowledge are through a virus or by phishing. Understanding these basic terms will help in preventing common scams.

A virus is a computer program designed to copy itself into other computer programs. If your computer has a virus, a scammer can generate a message to everyone in your address book containing a link or attachment that will appear as if it came from you. Scammers can obtain information from your computer through a virus. A virus can cause a computer to malfunction. No one wants a virus. This column deals with preventing a virus, not correcting it after it happens.

Phishing is a method of accessing your computer to obtain personal information. A typical phishing email will entice you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment by statements such as "you don't want to miss this." I have received several of these recently. If you respond as directed, your computer will be opened and information made available to whoever sent the email. You should verify the source of any email containing a link or an attachment before you click on it.

An email may appear to come from a reliable source such as a bank, credit card company, reputable business or a government agency. Logos can be duplicated or confusingly similar names used. An email asking you to "verify" or "update" information that the sender should have is virtually certain to be a scam. A threat to cut off service if a response is not received within a certain time is virtually certain to be a scam.

A scam currently circulating is an email purporting to be from the post office stating that it has a package needing to be claimed. You are instructed to send money to the email sender within a certain time or the package will be impounded or returned to the sender.

Reputable businesses and government agencies do not use the methods described above to communicate with customers or citizens.

If an email appearing to come from a trusted friend containing a link or attachment looks totally out of character, it is probably an attempt to plant a virus. For example, a friend recently received this email from a purported friend who was not in debt and would not write in a non grammatically correct manner: "I was told that id never be able to bounce back from my debt it would be insane to ignore this I had hit an all time low! (link)"

On the other hand, a service set up to screen virus attempts may transfer an attachment from a legitimate sender to a spam or trash file. This just happened to me. It is well to check spam and trash files regularly.

If in doubt as to the authenticity of an email sender, the prudent response is to call or send an email to the purported sender. Inquire as to whether the email is bogus. Delete any suspicious email.

Avoidance of viruses and phishing can be summarized by this simple practice: Never click on a link or open an attachment to an email unless you are sure of the source. If in doubt, verify. If not satisfied, delete.
