Most of the 2 billion paper cards mailed between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year land in the garbage by January. According to Friends of the Earth, recycling those discarded greetings could save the equivalent of 666,600 trees. That’s why legitimate online, paperless, greeting card companies have such an upside.

The downside is that, while desirable and cost-efficient e-cards readily spread cheer and cheesy humor, spammers and hackers spreading computer viruses often hide behind malicious season’s greetings. Experts caution that we must ever be alert to delete the products of such malcontents, as they continually shift their strategies to match the calendar.

Here are three tips to sort the good from the bad: Only open cards that carry a familiar name; the generic “from a friend or family member,” is a red light. Look for an individual verification code; instead of clicking on the email link provided, visit the company website to open the e-card using the code. Stay alert; both naughty and nice greetings can show up any time of the year.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor.