The 10 Most Important Internet Safety Skills

Below is a list of the top 10 most critically important skills that the public should learn in order to help them reduce their online risks. Though we understand that we cannot eliminate all Internet fraud, we believe that the ten basic skills below can dramatically decrease your risks for being victimized by online fraud, accidently infecting your devices with malware, or handing over your very personal information to phishing scams.

Many of the tips below include links to articles on our website that go into greater depth on learning these 10 skills….

  1. Understand how to create sets of strong passwords that are not difficult to remember, and understand why it is as important to do this for email and social media accounts as financial accounts. Using the same password for multiple accounts is highly risky!
       Creating Strong Passwords: https://thedailyscam.com/creating-strong-passwords
  1. Understanding email addresses as a way to expose fraud and identify risk.
      Where its @! https://www.thedailyscam.com/where-its-at/
      Why is This Legitimate? https://www.thedailyscam.com/why-is-this-legitimate/
  1. Understanding fully qualified domains names, including sub-domains as an easy way to expose fraud.
    How to Surf Safely: https://www.thedailyscam.com/how-to-surf-safely/
  1. Recognizing 2-letter country codes and why this is so important to expose fraud.
    Country Code Scams: https://thedailyscam.com/country-code-scams/
  1. Using mouse-over skills to evaluate links before clicking on them; understanding how to use mouse-over skills on i-devices like iPads and smartphones.
    Mouse-Over Skills: https://thedailyscam.com/articles/mouse-over-skill/
    Mouse-Over Skills Video: https://thedailyscam.com/mouse-over-skills/
    Mouse-Over Skills on iDevices: https://www.thedailyscam.com/mouse-over-skills-on-i-devices/
  1. The importance of “s” in https.
    How to Surf Safely: https://www.thedailyscam.com/how-to-surf-safely/
  1. The value of recognizing poor English and grammar, as well as spelling errors, as a way to expose suspicious and fraudulent content. There are many examples where TheDailyScam brings attention to poor English and grammar as a way to detect fraud.
  1. The risks of shortened URLs and how to un-shorten them.
    Risks of Shortened URLs: https://thedailyscam.com/articles/shortened-urls-what-are-they-and-why-should-i-care/
  1. Understanding the risks associated with certain attached file types.
    Filenames Will Set You Free! https://thedailyscam.com/file-names-will-set-you-free/
  1. Using the power of Google and several other online tools to expose fraud.
    Use Google to Detect Fraud: https://www.thedailyscam.com/use-google-to-detect-fraud/
    Other tools include:
        Zulu URL Risk Analyzer
        WHOIS Tool
    Sucuri.net Sitecheck
        VirusTotal.com

During the last few years Internet fraud and online threats have increased dramatically. I hear or read about someone being victimized nearly every day online or through their phone. And that’s not taking into account the many businesses who suffer data breaches of their user’s trusted personal information. It’s time to admit the obivious… Cybercriminals freely target the world’s citizens with impunity. I’ve tried writing articles and newsletters for TheDailyScam.com pointing fingers at ICANN and the Registrars hoping to shame them into doing better to protect the rest of us but my efforts are useless. ICANN.org and their Registrars are the ones responsible for setting rules for creating domain names, and selling those domains. Cybercriminals spend millions of dollars annually to purchase domain names used to support their criminal activities. ICANN and the Registrars, overall, do a very poor job of monitoring and removing this misuse. They actually make it easy for cybercriminals to purchase obvious domain names used to support fraud. For example, the domain “govfiles.social” was registered on December 11, 2025 and used to create a fake US Department of Justice Website. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this particular domain name was likely going to be used to support fraud! We cannot rely on the rule-makers to protect the public.

I welcome every reader’s input on my list of selected skills. Please email your feedback to feedback@thedailyscam.com.  Also, consider sharing the above list with friends and family to help them in become safer online.

Doug Fodeman
Content Director, TheDailyScam.com