Dianna Boren / Scroll Illustration

These are some of the subjects of e-mails that fill inboxes and junk mail, enticing millions of people to click on the attached file or enter the personal information it asks for. But these e-mails could lead to viruses or identity theft.

James Helfrich, a professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department said viruses commonly come through e-mails, especially those with an attachment. Attachments are represented by a paperclip symbol in the inbox.

“If the attachment is a program, it is almost always a virus. It could be a program but not look like one,” Helfrich said.

Once the program is downloaded to the computer the virus corrupts the computer’s information.

A computer virus is a piece of computer code that attaches itself to a program or file so it can spread from computer to computer. Viruses can damage software, hardware or files.

Another danger is phishing scams. Phishing scams are a form of Internet fraud in which fake e-mails are sent out for the purpose of obtaining personal information, such as passwords or bank account numbers, which can lead to identity theft.

According to a report released by the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a collection of businesses and law enforcement officials, there were 26,150 phishing scams reported in August 2006. The United States hosted the most phishing scam Web sites.

Helfrich said that a good way to avoid getting scammed or downloading a virus it is to not open anything from someone you don’t know.

However, that isn’t always a foolproof solution.

“You have to be careful, because you can even get a virus from someone you know, like your mom,” Helfrich said. A virus has the ability to steal information out of e-mail programs and send itself to everyone listed in your address book. Contact the person and make sure to confirm the contents of the attachment before opening it, Helfirch said.

Helfrich said students at BYU-Idaho should get a virus checker that scans e-mail and everything else on your computer for viruses.

“A virus checker is good to have. You don’t know how important it is until you need it,” said Shane Warner, a senior from Morgan, Utah.

Virus checkers can be downloaded for free or cost as much as $40. The main virus checkers are Security Advisor, Norton Internet Security and McAfee Virus Scan, Helfrich said.

Helfrich said another way to avoid identity theft is to use common sense. Scam e-mails are usually easy to spot. If an email has plain text, no formatting and bad grammar, it’s a pretty good clue that it’s a scam.

The point is, as Helrich said, get a virus checker and be careful. Always double check the source of the e-mail and don’t give out any information until you verify with the source that it’s needed.