I have mixed feeling about something I heard about at the credit union recently. It seems that some of our members have taken my advice about links in email messages deeply to heart, to the point that they’re afraid to click a link in any message (even an expected, monthly newsletter from us!).

On one hand, I’m thrilled that some people are listening and learning. The vast majority of the traffic for this site comes from search engines (an unintended result; the original idea was to specifically reach people in our geographic area), so it’s good to know that local folks are getting hip to the fraud prevention tip as well.

On the other hand, perhaps I’m fomenting paranoia and fear with all the dire warnings.

Here’s the deal: if you’re getting a regular email communiqué, such as a monthly electronic newsletter, from a trusted source, it’s okay to use the links contained therein. No scammer is going to go through the trouble of creating a monthly newsletter, with constantly-changing articles about the latest promotions and happenings at a financial institution, and place low-pressure, soft-sell links at the bottom of the page (which is exactly what REGIONAL sends out during the first week of each month).

What you want to be wary of is those unexpected messages that try to jolt you into acting without thinking; “YOUR ACCOUNT HAS BEEN SUSPENDED!” screams the message. “CLICK HERE TO VERIFY YOUR ACCOUNT!”

That’s the stuff you need to avoid—the unexpected, urgent-sounding message that addresses you as “Dear Customer” or “Dead Cardholder” or that contains poor spelling and/or grammar, and that instructs you to verify your personal information. If you’ve got an account at a bank, credit union or creditor, they already have your personal information. If they didn’t, you wouldn’t have an account.