Email scammers are always on the lookout for innocent persons to con them out of their money. They first target your personal details which they then use to scheme on how they can get money out of your pockets.
Some of the common details that phishing emails will target to get from you include credit card details, your passwords, your full names, your bank account details, etc.
What is a Scam Email and How Can I Recognize One?
A scam email is simply an email from a person who has an intention to scam money from the recipient.
If you are a frequent user of emails, then you must have received a couple of strange emails claiming all sorts of things from investment opportunities to unpaid invoices and everything in between.
There are many ways to recognize phishing and here is how to spot the most common email scams, stay safe and avoid losing your money.
Check out for disguised links
A disguised link is one that appears to be for a legit website but turns out to be fake. For example, you can see a link disguised as www.scamhelp.net. But when you click on it it takes you to a completely different destination.
As a rule, never attempt to click a link on an email you consider strange or one from a sender you cannot seem to recognize or seem to have anything in common with. Rest or hover your mouse pointer over the link to check the real website destination of the link i.e. where the link will take you.
Be sure to double-check the URL to be sure it is not just a disguise. For example, a phishing link might come as www.scanhelp.net instead of the genuine one which is www.scamhelp.net. Notice how the ‘m’ has been replaced with ‘n’ to disguise you so that you think that the email is coming from ScamHelp.
Be careful with strange emails
You must have received emails from persons you have no idea at all who they are. You can’t remember meeting this person anywhere in your life or transacting with them in any form. In other words, nothing about the sender clicks on your mind.
These are the types of emails that will say you have won a prize, or your email is among the lucky ones selected for a draw. Some emails claim to be from persons in distress, a widow who has lost her rich husband and needs your assistance to immigrate and share the riches with you, etc.
Treat such emails with the contempt they deserve. Nothing positive will ever come out of such emails. In fact, delete them as soon as you spot them, and report them to your email provider as spam.
Pending invoices
Some emails will land in your inbox claiming that you have an overdue invoice which you must pay immediately or else there will be consequences.
In sending this kind of phishing email, the scammer is hoping to scare you out and send you into panic mode. In this state of ‘confusion’, you can then rush to click on the link or download the invoice file.
The idea is to get you to panic mode then rush into action in an effort to ascertain which payment is this. Most people actually end up opening the links or downloading the files. And as soon as you download or open the link, the scammer will have achieved their objective for that particular email. They will now execute the next step which is to use your details.
Don’t panic whenever you receive such emails. Just relax and think through them. If you can’t seem to remember any overdue invoice or pending payment, just delete the email and report it.
What Can You Do To Recover Lost Funds?
It’s painful to lose funds to scammers. The experience and feeling are terrible to anyone regardless of how much money you have or how much has been lost. If you are a victim of such scams, please get started with this free consultation, and let’s help you recover your lost funds.
