set id How Spot a Fake E-Mail.

Spot a Fake E-Mail.

Spot a Fake E-Mail.

At Ballan Computers, we are seeing a considerable number of local clients who have clicked on and fallen victim to a scam emails.

These email scams range from ransomware to identity theft and the statistics worldwide are unbelievable. Cybercrime affects 18 people per second, 1,080 people per minute, 64,800 per hour and a staggering 1.55 million people per day.

Whilst we are constantly reminded to always check the sender of our emails, this message doesn’t always get through. Which is why when you look at e-mails on your computer, it’s good practice to do it when you are not distracted. This way you can take a few extra seconds per e-mail to decide whether its genuine or fake. We know it can be tough doing this every day for every email, but it’s worse when you lose all your files to ransomware, your hard-earned money or your identity.

We cannot stress the importance of staying safe online, so we’ve compiled this list of our top tips for checking and replying to emails;

  • Always look at the from address of your e-mails. See above image from ‘Apple Support’ then has a completely different name after the @ symbol in the email
  • Look for errors in grammar, spelling and addressee. Example above says ‘Hello Dear Customer’, while that could mean Hello, Dear Customer, we’d assume Apple would know our first name and not need to refer to us as ‘ Dear Customer’
  • Hover over links (but don’t click them) this will help identify where the link is sending you
  • Most companies won’t ask for personal details over e-mail without first telling you. For example, if you go for a home loan, you might have personal information in the e-mail trail, and expect to be asked a question or two from the broke, but, if you get a random message from a bank, don’t fall for it
  • Review the contact information in the e-mail. Companies provide all kinds of information that can be cross checked before you engage in the e-mail. Contact information tends to be missing from fake e-mails
  • Don’t click attachments unless you are 100% positive its safe. Attachments are a great way for scammers to avoid anti-virus programs
  • If you didn’t initiate the e-mail, don’t trust it. While there are some cases this might not be an issue, e-mailing personal details without prior engagement is risky
  • If you’re not sure of the e-mail you receive, don’t click links or attachments. Google key words to see if they are legitimate
  • Don’t unsubscribe from the fake e-mails as all that does is tell their server the account is active. In some cases, it will even make the spam problem worse. You can unsubscribe from legitimate e-mails easily, but clicking unsubscribe on a fake e-mail could cause just as much damage as the e-mail its self.

If you get a wave of spam e-mail daily and would like to control it a little more, give Ballan Computers a call on 03 5368 2611 and we can steer you in the right direction and engage market leading anti-spam programs and train you how to use them.

E-Mail Security Ransomware Phishing

Comments