Tracker Pixel for Entry

​Scram scammers

Culture | July 24th, 2019

Scammers send you emails that appear to come from your address for one of two reasons, generally. The first is in the hopes they will bypass your spam protection. If you send yourself an email, you’re likely trying to remember something important and wouldn’t want that message labeled as Spam. So, scammers hope that by using your address, your spam filters won’t notice, and their message will go through. Tools do exist to identify an email sent from a domain other than the one it claims to be from, but your email provider must implement them—and, unfortunately, many don’t.

The second reason scammers spoof your email address is to gain a sense of legitimacy. It’s not uncommon for a spoofed email to claim your account is compromised. That “you sent yourself this email” serves as proof of the “hacker’s” access. They might also include a password or phone number pulled from a breached database as further proof. The scammer usually then claims to have compromising information about you or pictures taken from your webcam. He then threatens to release the data to your closest contacts unless you pay a ransom. It sounds believable at first; after all, they seem to have access to your email account. But that’s the point—the scam artist is faking evidence.

What You Can Do About Self-Addressed Spam Unfortunately, there’s no way to prevent spammers from spoofing your address. Hopefully, the email system you use implements both SPF (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Policy_Framework) and DMARC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMARC), and you won’t see these targeted emails. They should go straight to spam. If your email account gives you control of its spam options, you can make them more strict. Just be aware you might lose some legitimate messages, too, so be sure to check your spam box often.If you do get a spoofed message from yourself, ignore it.

Don’t click any attachments or links and don’t pay any demanded ransoms. Just mark it as spam or phishing, or delete it. If you’re afraid your accounts have been compromised, lock them down for safety. If you reuse passwords, reset them on every service that shares the current one, and give each a new, unique password. If you don’t trust your memory with so many passwords, we recommend using a password manager. The manager that I use is called LastPass and the reasons that I use it is because it is free and it is good!

DO NOT open any email attachments!!! If you think it may be important, pick up the phone and call the person who sent it to you. If you are not expecting it, pick up the phone and call the person who sent it to you. If it is coming from an unknown source, DON’T open it, delete it!

If you’re worried about receiving spoofed emails from your contacts, it might also be worth your time to learn how to read email headers. Email header explanations are too big for my column but the Internet is rife with explanations of what a header should look like. The header will tell you where the email came from. 

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comFM Pride Week returns to the Fargo-Moorhead metro August 3-10. A snapshot of events are listed below. Discover event descriptions and locations as well as volunteer opportunities online at…

Monday, August 11Fargo Theatre, 314 N. Broadway, Fargo “Saw The Musical” premiered Off-Broadway in the Fall of 2023, parodying the events of the first “Saw” film. It has been described as “a love story with fluidity (and…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com On July fourth, Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest took place at Coney Island. The winners, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, reigned victorious. Chestnut earned his 17th title by…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comReagan laughed and quipped — but it has come true under our CEOPresident Reagan thought he was joking when he spoke to a 1980s political rally: “The nine most terrifying words in the English…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gion and Simone Wairickgion@gmail.com The Red River Market returned to downtown Fargo on Saturday, July 12. The event will take place every Saturday except July 19. (That date will be moved to Sunday, July 20, due to the…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com The wildly talented and ambitious Zach Cregger drags us back to the basement in “Weapons,” one of the year’s most satisfying and enjoyable films of any genre. While fans of…

Press ReleaseTouchmark at Harwood Groves will host a special artist reception featuring renowned glass artist Jon Offutt on Tuesday, July 29, at 2:00 p.m. in the community’s auditorium. The event celebrates Offutt’s temporary…

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comCaregivers for school-aged children and teenagers are encouraged to bring them to back-to-school immunization clinics scheduled for every Tuesday in August. Fargo Cass Public Health (FCPH)…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…