Frankenstein Computers is here with a few helpful tips on how to spot a phishing or spoofing email:
Do not trust the display name
A favorite phishing tactic among cybercriminals is to spoof the display name of an email. It is estimated that nearly half of all email threats spoofed a brand in the display name. This fraudulent email, once delivered, appears legitimate because most user inboxes only present the display name. Do not trust the display name! Check the email address in the header From: – if it looks suspicious, just do not even bother to open the email.
Do not click on attachments!
Sending malicious attachments that contain viruses and malware is one of the most common phishing tactics (PDF, Word, Excel files). Malware can damage files on your computer, steal your passwords or spy on you without your knowledge. Do not open any email attachments you were not expecting.
Look but do not click
Hover your mouse over any links embedded in the body of the email. If the link address looks weird, simply do not click on it.
Do not give up personal information
Legitimate banks and most other companies will never ask for personal credentials via email. Do not give them up.
Check for spelling and grammatical mistakes
Businesses are pretty serious about email. Legitimate messages usually do not have major spelling mistakes or poor grammar. Read your emails carefully and report anything that may seem suspicious.
Analyze the salutation
Is the email addressed vaguely – “Valued Customer”? If so, watch out — legitimate businesses will often use a personal salutation with your first and last name. Not a fool proof rule of thumb though.
Beware of urgent or threatening language in the subject line
Invoking a sense of urgency or fear is a common phishing tactic. Beware of subject lines that claim your “account has been suspended” or your account had an “unauthorized login attempt.”
Do not believe everything that you see
Phishers are extremely good at what they do. Just because an email has a convincing brand logo, language, and a seemingly valid email address, does not mean that it is legitimate. Be skeptical when it comes to your email messages — if it looks even remotely suspicious, do not open!
If you ever have an email that you are just not sure about, feel free to give us a call here at Frankenstein Computers and we can have a technician remote in and take a look to confirm your suspicions.
Frankenstein Computers has been taking care of our happy clients since 1999. We specialize in IT Support, IT Service, MAC repair, PC Repair, Virus Removal, and much more. Check out what our clients have to say about us on Yelp!