Scam #2: Check out this cool link! Your friend’s email or Facebook account is hijacked, and you receive a brief message with a short URL to watch a video or check out something equally “cool.” The link actually leads to a malicious page with a malware download. Most shortlink services have a feature that lets you preview where the shortlink will go; use it. If you’ve never heard of the Web site, check the true destination domain against a reputation service. And don’t be the first one among your friends to click a link.

Scam #3: John Doe wants to be your friend. In this one, the scammers usually duplicate the message format of popular social network sites. Instead of linking to “friend request,” it takes you to a malicious page instead. To avoid this one, without clicking anything, move the mouse over the link in your email message, then look at the Status Bar to see exactly where the link leads. If the message claims to come from one company, but the URL points to a domain you’ve never heard of, don’t click the link.