As February 14th draws closer, don’t be surprised if several spams and phishing scams find their way into your inbox.

 Valentine’s Day often offers spammers and scammers alike a golden opportunity to lure people into opening their wallets or giving away their personal information under the deceptive guise of love.

Here are some other examples of the threats that are expected to surface during Valentine’s Day this year.

• Valentine’s-themed spam mails or banners.

Be careful of which links you click today, spammers will target those who've left their gift-buying until the last minute. Only pay for a gift online when you know and trust the source or well-known retailers or otherwise your credit card details could fall prey to scammers.

• Watch that V-Day e-cards.

So, someone does love you after all, and they've sent you a nice card. Or have they? It could actually be a phishing attempt to steal your information or infect your computer with spyware. Remember to only open those emails sent by people whom you trust. Ignore those secret admirer messages!!!!

•  Unsafe search.

Desperately looking for a last minute gift? Be wary of online offers for typically Valentines-y gifts that seem too good to be true. They most likely are. Gold prices are going through the roof at the moment, thanks the global maelstrom of financial events, so be wary of anyone offering a crazy deal.

•  Lovely malware.

Tempted to download a sweet cupid-themed video, wallpaper, song, or a Valentine’s Day Facebook profile theme? Be wary. Scammers prey on the soppy-hearted, due, as previously mentioned to their dark hearts made of shattered dreams. That cute little download could pack a nasty bit of malware.

One of the easiest ways to avoid such heartache and safe from all these hysterias is by making sure that your computer is protected with the newest version antivirus/antimalware software. Download your latest Ad-Aware version 11.5 and get yourself protected from V-Day scams.

Quick Tips:

• Trust your judgments and examine the message if something seems suspicious.
• Use ONLY trustworthy and reliable websites for online shopping and sending e-cards to your loved ones. Stay away from the ones you never heard of.
• Make sure your antivirus and antispyware are up to date! If you do not have an antivirus and an antispyware, you can download Ad-Aware Free by clicking here.
• Don’t click on links when you’re not sure of the sender or the intent of the email.
• Always be very careful of suspicious emails and links. And never fill out forms or signup pages coming from these emails or links.
• Never enter your personal information on a page you don’t know or trust. And always check the URL to make sure you’re not on a phishing site.
• Only sign in to your online accounts when your 100% certain that you’re on the right site. Remember phishing sites impersonate legitimate sites by copying their login page. But one thing online criminals can’t copy is the URL. So always check the URL to make sure it is legitimate.