Seven safety tips in using free e-mail services

Nowadays everyone needs an e-mail address and almost everyone has one mostly due to free e-mail services. But how  many  of us are concerned  about  the safety of our e-mail  account?  Here are few tips that we suggest you to follow in order to make your e-mail account safe.

1.  Creating an e-mail account

There are numerous e-mail service providers giving away free e-mail services with varying benefits to the users. It is safe to use a well known service provider because of the stability of the service would be  a  concern  in  the  long  run.  However  since  these  services  are  free  there  is  no  guarantee  for  the safety  of  your  mail.  Do  not  store  personal  photos,  confidential  documents,  etc  in  the  mail  account.  Send copies of your important mails to a reliable account, save to a disk etc.

2.  Using a strong password

Having a strong password is a critical step in creating an e-mail account for you. In some e-mail services like Google, the strength of the password is shown as you type. 

When you are selecting a password remember to,  

• Have 8 or more characters to your password
• Use a combination of letters, numbers and special characters  
• Do not use easily guessable words like yourname@123 , product names , etc

3.  Choosing the correct security question

In  case  you  lost  access  to  your  e-mail  account  there  is  a  way  to  recover  it  by  contacting  the  mail service  provider  and  giving  the  correct  answer  to  your  security  question.  But  here  also  you  can  see some  of  the  answers  to  the  security  question  is  easily  guessable  if  the  person  knows  about  your background.

Therefore, you can use an uncommon question or write your own question and an answer which is the safest.

4.  To recover, you need a recovery mail

Always have a recovery mail address associated to the e-mail account in case you lost access to your e-mail account due to reasons like hacking or forgetting the password. Always remember that if your account is compromised, a recovery mail address is essential to regain access.

5.  Watch account activity

Some  e-mail  services  provide  a  simple  table  with  account  activity  details  which  is  quite  useful  to detect unusual logins.

6.  Keep a backup of your contact list separately

It becomes very useful when you face a situation where your account is compromised and the hacker is sending scam mails by your name. To mitigate the situation the first thing you should do is inform your contacts about the scam using your backup contact list.

7.  Do not fall into scams

Some email users have lost money to bogus offers that arrived as spam in their in-box. Con artists are very cunning; they know how to make their claims seem legitimate. Some spam messages ask for your business, others invite you to a website with a detailed pitch. Either way, these tips can help you avoid spam scams:

• Protect  your  personal  information.  Share  credit  card  or  other  personal  information  only when you're buying from a company you know and trust.
• Know who you're dealing with. Don't do business with any company that won't provide its name, street address, and telephone number.
• Take  your  time.  Resist  any  urge  to  "act  now"  despite  the  offer  and  the  terms.  Once  you turn over your money, you may never get it back.
• Read  the  small  print.  Get  all  promises  in  writing  and  review  them  carefully  before  you make a payment or sign a contract.
• Never pay for a "free" gift. Disregard any offer that asks you to pay for a gift or prize. If it's free or a gift, you should not have to pay for it. Free means free.

Here are 10 scams that email users commonly come across:

1. The "Nigerian" Email Scam
2. Phishing
3. Work-at-Home Scams
4. Weight Loss Claims
5. Foreign Lotteries
6. Cure-All Products
7. Check Overpayment Scams
8. Pay-in-Advance Credit Offers
9. Debt Relief
10. Investment Schemes