Typing mistakes in spoof emails
It never ceases to amaze me how frequently basic typing mistakes appear in Spoof/Phishing emails (just in case you don't know, a phishing email is the name given to emails sent under false pretences to lure information from you - normally banking details).
It would be fair to assume that prior to committing fraud on a major scale and even if it was only to gain a higher success rate, our nasty criminal would think to run it through the spellcheck!
No matter how accurately the email design matches, a quick glance for a typo is normally all it takes to confirm that the email is a fake (that's assuming that it's masquerading as a email from a bank that I actually use in the first place - most from a banks that I don't use). It's almost as if the cyber-criminal is giving us a sporting chance of not getting caught.
Just in case you can't find a typo, always follow these steps - just in case a grammatically correct spoof email has slipped through the net!
1. never click on links and never open or save attachments.
2. see if the email includes your name not dear si, etc.
3. see if it was sent to your exact email address - a lot of spoof emails are sent with any name in front of your website address.
4. always open a new browser window and type in the website address that you want to visit. clicking on a link that says www.yourbank.com will not necessarily take you to your bank.
Incidentally, most banks and institutions have a fraud squad that can normally be reached by emailing spoof@addyourbanknamehere.com It's always worth forwarding phishing emails to this address so they can be tracked.
It would be fair to assume that prior to committing fraud on a major scale and even if it was only to gain a higher success rate, our nasty criminal would think to run it through the spellcheck!
No matter how accurately the email design matches, a quick glance for a typo is normally all it takes to confirm that the email is a fake (that's assuming that it's masquerading as a email from a bank that I actually use in the first place - most from a banks that I don't use). It's almost as if the cyber-criminal is giving us a sporting chance of not getting caught.
Just in case you can't find a typo, always follow these steps - just in case a grammatically correct spoof email has slipped through the net!
1. never click on links and never open or save attachments.
2. see if the email includes your name not dear si, etc.
3. see if it was sent to your exact email address - a lot of spoof emails are sent with any name in front of your website address.
4. always open a new browser window and type in the website address that you want to visit. clicking on a link that says www.yourbank.com will not necessarily take you to your bank.
Incidentally, most banks and institutions have a fraud squad that can normally be reached by emailing spoof@addyourbanknamehere.com It's always worth forwarding phishing emails to this address so they can be tracked.
posted by Active Internet Support at
23:08
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