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Some cybercriminals send emails informing the victim that they have won a lottery or a surprise
gift. The cybercriminal then asks for personal details and bank details for transferring the winning
amount. Cybercriminals may also ask the victim to deposit a small processing fee to lure the
victim to transfer the winning amount.

These emails are not to be trusted and one must not reply to them with any personal information.

Further, these mails must be immediately deleted from e-mail account to avoid accidental access
in future.

Measures to Avoid Spam

To avoid spam, we can take the following measures:

• Preview your messages before opening them.
• Don't click any link in a Spam e-mail otherwise you will invite many such e-mails in your inbox.
• Don’t reply to a Spam e-mail.

• Don't forward an e-mail received from someone you don't know to a list of people.

E-mail Account Hacking

It is another common method used by cybercriminals to trouble victims. Using malware or other
tricks to obtain your e-mail ID and password, cybercriminals can gain access to your critical
information like social media accounts, bank accounts, etc.

Cybercriminals may also send offensive emails to a victim’s contacts via hacking the e-mail. But
not all hacking is destructive in nature. Some hackers use this technique for national security,
creating safer systems, etc. This is known as ethical hacking.

Tech Fact

Cracking refers to the act of breaking into systems to steal or destroy data. Crackers may
disturb applications by using malware or changing the program of the applications.

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