There is no doubt that technology has made a huge positive difference to our personal and business lives over the past two decades. Many of us rely on tech such as internet technology on a daily basis, and it has helped to provide us with greater ease and convenience with many aspects of our lives. However, the same technology has also put us at increased risk of being scammed, with a variety of methods used by perpetrators. This includes phishing scams, which have become increasingly common over the years.
A lot of people have fallen victim to phishing scams, and this is often through emails that are sent with a link to click on. These emails often look like bona fide emails from trusted sources, although this is not always the case. Often, people are tricked into clicking on a link in the email, which then leads to them becoming the victim of fraudulent activity. There are various tools you can use to try and reduce the chances of being fooled such as email look up tools. It is also worth educating yourself on how to detect possible phishing scams. This is something we will look at in this article.
Some Tips to Help Identify Scam Emails
There are a few tips that can help you to better determine whether an email is a phishing scam, which means that you are less likely to fall victim to this type of activity. Some of the things to look at are:
The Sender's Email Address
One of the things you should always check if you receive a suspicious-sounding email is the address of the sender. Often, you will receive emails that claim to be from your bank or the tax office, and the subject line can make it sound like an urgent email. However, if this is not an email you were expecting, make sure you check the address of the sender. You might notice that the sender's email address is a Hotmail or Gmail address, which means that it has not been sent via an official source.
Poorly Written Email
Another thing to look at is how the email is written. Bonafide businesses and agencies are unlikely to send out emails that are littered with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Some scam emails are very poorly written, and some of the sentences do not even make sense. So, make sure you read the email and see whether it looks and sounds professional. If it does not make sense or is poorly written, chances are it is a scam email.
Suspicious Links and Attachments
Often, scam emails will include suspicious attachments and links, and these you must avoid opening and clicking on. These are usually infected files or links that will take you to fake websites where your details are then harvested and used for fraudulent activity. If you receive an email claiming to be from your bank, utility providers, or other official company, rather than clicking any links you should access your account via the web browser and check for any messages there.
These are a few of the things to look at if you want to get a better idea of whether an email might be a phishing scam.
