Hello Fellow Technophiles,
On the internet, anyone can claim to be anyone. People employ many different methods of deception in order to trick you into signing up for a service you don’t need, joining a mailing list, or providing the routing number to your bank account. For example, you may be surprised to hear this, but I do not actually have a handlebar mustache, horn-rimmed glasses, and a fur coat despite the image to the left. This image has been doctored using old school Photoshop: stickers. The fur coat is real (not real fur, of course, but real as in it exists and I am actually wearing it) but belongs to one of my coworkers, and though I look super awesome in it, it is unfortunately a touch small for me.
Given that there are many pop-up messages that are legitimate, it can be hard to tell what is real. The easiest thing to do is to not trust any of them. Instead of clicking that link in an email or pop-up, navigate to that place yourself. If it is a software update pop-up, for example, close it and open the App Store app and see if there is in fact a pending software update. If it is an email about your bank account, then navigate to the bank’s website yourself, or even better call them using a known good phone number (the one on the back of your debit card is a good option); if it is truly urgent this will be the best way for you to be sure that you are actually talking to your bank and also makes it easier for your bank to verify that you are actually who you say you are.
Another good tip for staying safe on the internet is make sure that full URLs are displayed in the address bar in Safari. In the newer operating systems, a shortened form of the URL displays by default, and this can make it easier for scammers to make it look like you are on a different site than the one you think you are on. To turn this off, go to Safari > Preferences > Advanced and check the box that says “Show full website address.”
Safe surfing everyone!