With the advent of the internet and the benefits that come along with it, there are also a number of scams to beware of. Scam emails have become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with more unsuspecting people falling victim to fraudsters.
Some of the most internet-savvy people have fallen victim to scam emails, which have been designed using the most sophisticated technology. This is why it’s important to keep abreast of technological advancements and developments.
Here are a few simple ways to spot scam emails:
Kevin Hogan, fraud risk manager at Investec Private Banking told Fin24 that one of the best ways to spot scam emails is to hover over the word “from”. You should check that the email is from a recognisable domain.
Check if the website address (URL) is legitimate. Legitimate links use the encryption (https://). To visit a website you should also open a new window and go to the site directly.
Lottery scams will routinely request your full name, date of birth, street address and telephone number. The sender is usually an individual, so it’s not an official lottery email.
If the sender does not know who you are, it could be a sign. Any correspondence beginning with the words “Dear valued customer” is a scam. If you do business with them, they should know your name.
One of the easiest ways to spot scam emails is that there are disembodied links. Watch out for links that are the only content in the body of the email. There may be shortened links that don’t display the actual address.
Keep an eye out for vague or generic subject lines. Beware of subject lines such as “free to look” or “private”.
Emails written in CAPS LOCK can indicate spam. Emails that appear too enthusiastic are often a sign of a scam.
Poor grammar and a lot of spelling mistakes are generally a good sign of scam emails. Look out for major typos and questionable syntax.