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snuggels
960 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Sep 2011 : 10:32:41
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If you receive a suspicious-looking email, there are several ways you can ascertain if it's genuine or a phishing email. The first and most obvious is: if you don't have an account with that bank or haven't played a lottery, for example, it's fake. If it passes that test, look at the sender's email address - banks or other companies aren't likely to email you from a Hotmail or Yahoo account, for example
And in a similar vein, if your email address isn't in the 'To' line, then alarm bells should be ringing. Particularly if what is there resembles gobbledygook.
Whatever your views on the intelligence of bankers, they do employ people to ensure official communications aren't littered with spelling and/or punctuation mistakes. So if the email reads like it's been written by someone with a pretty poor grasp of our language, it's probably fake.
If there is a website link in the email, does it match the one you normally use for online banking? Don't click it, but take a look. If it doesn't look familiar, steer well clear.
In some email programs, such as Outlook, you can hover over a web link before you click it. What do you see? In this case, we've unmasked an address that looks nothing to do with the bank it purports to be from.
This email looks pretty genuine - right down to the fact that Ashley Machin is, at the time of writing, Digital Banking Director at Lloyds TSB. But remember - your bank will never ask you to update or verify personal information via email. If you're in any doubt, call them.
Now, moving away from banks, here are some other dodgy emails to beware of...
This scam is becoming increasingly popular as fraudsters look to capitalise on growing levels of unemployment. The emails can often seem convincing, and the initial email generally doesn't request any personal details. It's only once you respond that you receive an 'application form' that requests enough information to impersonate you and borrow money in your name.
We were originally notified of this scam email by MSN Money user Raj, and just recently one of the MSN Money team was targeted with an almost identical trick. We all remember the tax code error debacle by HMRC last year, so it's not inconceivable that you'd receive an email from them offering you a refund on overpaid tax. There's just one tiny flaw to this scam: HMRC never contact anyone by email.
Scammers have never been shy about using the National Lottery, Euromillions or any other lottery you might have heard of as a front for trying to fleece us. You'll get an email saying you've won a fortune and all you need to do is send back some information to claim untold riches. Except you haven't won, and there are no riches.
You receive an email saying you've inherited a load of cash from a hitherto unknown relative or benelovent benefactor - all you need to do is open a bank account and the funds will be sent your way. Thete is one from a Mervyn King who has the interesting email address drgreed@uwclub.net!
Some scams are pretty easy to spot, and this is certainly one of them. The would-be criminal will email you claiming that they've come across a large sum of money, perhaps from a political coup or civil war, and they need your help to smuggle it out of the country.
They promise to reward you richly if you would be so kind as to open a bank account for them and deposit some of your own money in there to avoid suspicion. You can guess the rest...
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| Bantaba in Cyberspace |
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