Email Safety & Etiquette

General Safety Rules

Never open emails from people you don't know. Just delete them. They could be unsafe or offensive.

Never give any private info through email or email links. People create fraudulent websites that look exactly like the real ones. This is a method that crooks like to use to steal your money and/or identity. If you need to change your password, credit card information, or any other private information type in the real web address manually and log in from there. Also, don't send private information by email because it could get forwarded to others without your knowledge.

Effective petitions are not done by email. Telling everyone to add their name to a list and forward it defeats the purpose of making a list. All of the names will never get back to the person who started it and most of these lists are fake. Hand written petitions are more effective but if you would really like to be involved in an online petition participate in something like www.ipetitions.com.

You cannot win a lottery, competition, or money you didn't enter to win it. This is a scam and could cost you money if you give out personal information.

Most computer virus email warnings are fake. Go to www.snopes.com and search for the virus name to find out more information. Avast keeps their virus database up to date and will protect you from the virus before you ever get an email about it.

Only put links to stories, pictures, and videos in your emails instead of including them as part of the email. That way you won't be responsible for cluttering someone's inbox.


Email Forwarding Guidelines

Avoid forwarding lots of things. Most people do not like forwards.

Any email that claims something will happen if you don't forward the message is a lie.

A donation will not be made for a needy person or child for every person you forward to.

Check www.snopes.com if needed for the validity of any claim. Always be skeptical at first.

Make sure you know who you're sending it too. Don't just check "send to all contacts".

Keep in mind, not everyone has the same opinion. Forwards can be one-sided and offensive.

Copy and paste all of the email address from the "To:" box to the "Bcc:" box. Bcc stands for "Blind Carbon Copy". This makes it so the recipients cannot see all the email addresses of the other people you sent it to. This will help reduce Spam for your friends and keep their email address private.