Phishing scams: Identifying and fighting the scam
Although it can be difficult to identify a scam email at first glance, its impacts of them are easy to imagine. The scammers will usually target banking, retail, and healthcare institutions. These attacks could either steal your login information or your personal information data like name, address, phone number etc.
You may be wondering what you can do in order to stay safe when it comes to avoiding phishing scams. Well, if you want to know the signs of a scam email then all you have to do is take a look at these 7 signs that are known to be common with phishing scams. It is important that these warnings are taken seriously because they can have a huge impact on your life!
What is a phishing scam?
Phishing scams are a type of email scam that tricks people into revealing their personal information. These scams are often sent to people through email, text messages, or social media. They usually come from a non-trusted sender and ask the receiver to click on a link to verify their account. The phishing scam will typically ask for personal data like credit card numbers, passwords, and bank account information. The goal is to steal this person’s identity or money.
If you want to stay safe and be aware of the potential scams that could happen to people like you, then check out these 7 signs of phishing scam emails.
How to identify phishing scams
Phishing scams are on the rise. A phishing scam is an email that incorrectly claims to be from a legitimate organisation (e.g., Apple, PayPal) and tricks you into giving up personal information or downloading malware. This has become so prevalent that it is not uncommon for scams to make up 30% of all emails. Phishing scams are often hard to spot because they often look like the real thing. However, there are some ways to identify them.
1. The Scam Email Subject Line
The scam email subject line is a common tactic used by hackers to steal personal information. This type of email is designed to deceive people into clicking on a link or opening an attachment that will install malware on their computer.
Hackers are using emails with catchy subject lines, like “You’ve Won!” or “Congratulations!”, in order to trick people into opening the email and clicking on the link. These emails often have attachments that are designed to install malware onto the computer of whoever opens it.
2. The Scam Email Contents
There are many types of scam emails, but the most common is one that claims to be from your bank or financial institution. These emails will ask you to enter your username and password. The email will then steal your login information and send it to the scammers. It is important to note that these emails will not come from your bank or financial institution, but rather they will come from a spoofed email address that looks like it comes from them.
The best way to avoid this type of scam is by not providing any information in the email and instead contacting your bank or financial institution directly on their website.
3. The Scam Email Body
Scam emails are very common these days. They might contain a link that will redirect you to the scammer’s website. The scam email body is usually written in a very persuasive manner. They will try to make it seem like they are not trying to steal your personal information, but they are just trying to help you out.
It is important that you read the message carefully and never click on any links that they send you.
4. Misspelt Domain names
Scammers are targeting companies in the hopes of getting money or information. They will even go through the extent of purchasing misspelt names of organisations to try and fool you. Make sure the email domains are spelt correctly of the organisation’s name or it could be a scammer trying to steal your personal information.
5. Check email domain
Legitimate organisations will always use their company-branded emails to send and receive messages. Even if they want you to contact them through the mixed platform (Facebook, Twitter, or Google Plus), the emails that are related to those messaging or communications will still be from a specific domain name.
If an organisation uses a free email service like Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail, you may want to take caution. Most legitimate businesses will not use such services because those services are proprietary mail systems and it isn’t safe for the business’ messages to reside on a third-party domain. Ask yourself: Does the sender’s address make sense based on what I know about the company? Look out for strange combinations of words that don’t seem to match your prior experience with the company.
Tip: The sender’s name is Twitter, but the email domain isn’t a Twitter domain. The most popular way phishing scams are made and the most common way people fall for these scams is by looking at addresses only. The email looks professional with all of the same layouts as a genuine Twitter email which makes it difficult to spot that it’s fake!