Play Banzai, the free financial education program that makes it fun to learn about budgeting, paying for college, saving for a home and paying off debt.
Often it takes serious study to determine if an email is safe or a scam. Understanding the warning signs will protect you.
Many of us laugh off the occasional email from a prince with a large sum of money they’d like to share—if only you’d wire them funds to cover the taxes.
While those emails still exist, these days, scammers are getting better at disguising their communications as legitimate—making it harder to identify as malicious.
Links within an email or text are often the lure, allowing senders to install malware on your computer or phone, or simply persuade you to provide personal information such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Watch out for these red flags
The sender’s email address doesn’t match the name of the sender. They use poor spelling, grammar or punctuation. The company’s logo is slightly off. The email creates a sense of urgency. When you hover over a link, the web address directs you to a different company.* * Note: Many organizations use outside vendors to track email data, so this alone does not indicate phishing.
The email warns you of suspicious activity or a need to disable your account. They claim there is a problem with your account or payment information. They ask you to confirm personal information. They say you’ve won a contest or free merchandise, especially if you don’t recall entering the contest. The sender doesn’t address you by name or uses an incorrect name.
Something’s phishy!
The email below contains five signs of a scam, plus one amusing bonus. See if you can find them all.
