Search results
Mar 6, 2024 · With a quarter of people receiving suspicious emails every day, it’s becoming more difficult to separate genuine emails from those designed by fraudsters. Below, we detail five email scams to watch out for right now and how you can spot and avoid these emails.
- Overview
- Operators are standing by...to steal your information
- How can you spot these scams?
- What should you do?
- Learn more
A popular tactic of criminals is the "fake order" scam. The way it works is that you get a message, usually in email or text, that appears to be a routine confirmation for an order. Of course, you never ordered whatever product or service it's confirming.
The message looks common enough, and it says that money will be charged to your credit card or withdrawn from your bank account for the product or service. Then it casually offers instructions on how you can cancel the order if you want to.
Where they get you is when you try to cancel the fake order. That's how the scam works.
In order to cancel the fake order, you'll either have to click a link or call them on the telephone. Either way, the ultimate goal of the scammers is to get you to give them some personal information. They'll claim it's for the purposes of canceling the fake order. They'll want your name, address, phone number, and very likely your credit card or banking information. If you protest, they'll insist they only need that information to confirm your identity.
1. The sender address
The sender's email address is often the first clue that the message is a fake. In this example they haven't even tried to make it look real. If Norton were sending you a real confirmation message it wouldn't come from a dodgy-looking Gmail address. It would come from one of their real domains, perhaps @nortonlifelock.com. Always check the sender's email address and confirm that it makes sense for the message you've received.
2. To whom it may concern
If they don't know your name, they can't withdraw any funds from your bank account. A legitimate company would insert your name into a confirmation message. It's easy for them to do with modern billing systems.
3. The logo
Scammers often insert the logo of the organization they're trying to impersonate into the message to make it seem more legitimate. In this case they've used a pretty poor imitation of Norton's logo. They spelled "Norton" correctly and seem to have a yellow color that is pretty close to Norton's, but otherwise it's clearly not Norton's real logo. If you get a message with a suspicious-looking logo and you want to see if it's real or not, open your web browser to a new tab and do an internet search for the organization the message claims to be from. You should quickly find examples of their actual logo you can compare it to.
Stop. Think. Breathe. Look closely for clues like the ones we just talked about.
If you're still not sure if the message is real or fake, ask a friend or family member whose advice you trust.
If you still want to confirm if the message is real, open your web browser to a new tab and do an internet search for the organization the message claims to be from. Go to their official website and contact them at their published phone number.
If you have an account with them, open your web browser to a new tab and use your own saved favorite or internet search to sign into your account. Then you should be able to see if this mysterious order actually appears in their system.
Protect yourself from online scams and attacks
Protect yourself from tech support scams
Sep 28, 2023 · This guide provided an overview of the top 10 email scams exploiting vulnerabilities through phishing attempts, malware downloads, invoice fraud, romance cons, bogus job offers, and more. Knowing common red flags like mismatched links, spoofed domains, urgent threats demanding action, and shady attachments can help recipients identify malicious ...
Aug 17, 2022 · Beware of blackmail and sextortion emails threatening to expose your personal information. Fraudsters are sending emails claiming they’ve accessed your account and will expose your details - it’s a scam and here’s how to avoid falling for it.
- Check the signs of fake online shops. You can search for a company's details on GOV.UK. This will tell you if they're a registered company or not. If you’re buying something on a site you haven't used before, spend a few minutes checking it – start by finding its terms and conditions.
- Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust. Don’t click on or download anything you don’t trust - for example, if you get an email from a company with a strange email address.
- Be careful about giving personal information away. Some scammers try to get your personal information – for example, the name of your primary school or your National Insurance number.
- Check if your details have been shared online. Sometimes your log-in details can be made publicly available when a website is hacked. This means that someone could use your details in a scam.
Mar 17, 2021 · Spotting scammy emails. Let’s say you get an email about a charge to your credit card for something you aren’t expecting or don’t want. Your first instinct may be to immediately call the company or respond to the email and to stop the payment. Scammers know that, and are taking advantage of it in a new phishing scheme.
People also ask
What are the most common email scam ploys?
Are scam messages a real thing?
Are scam emails a scam?
Aug 26, 2024 · If you've received a suspicious email, text or WhatsApp message, how can you tell if it's a scam? We explain what you should check to make sure you don't get ripped off.
