A number of services require account verification through email or other methods. Regrettably, this process is often misused by fraudsters, as seen in a notorious series of phishing emails pretending to be from Amazon. It is crucial to scrutinize every email you receive. Red flags that may indicate a scam include typographical errors, unusually long […]

It’s important to remember that emails are not always secure, and you should be aware that someone might be able to view the contents of your emails at some point in the future. Therefore, it’s important to be mindful of the information you include in an email, and to avoid including any sensitive information. Be […]

When visiting a website for the first time – perhaps via an email link – lookout for the telling signs of phishing. These may involve misspellings and grammatical mistakes on the page, aggressive advertising and particularly unusual and complex URLs. If you see some or all of them, leave the website straightaway.

Phishing scams often look like legitimate requests for information, but there are lots of ways you can spot a phishing attack. Suspicious sender addresses, unsolicited attachments and spelling and grammar mistakes are all signs that a request for information is not legitimate.

There’s a common practice of sending direct mail disguised as courts summons or other official documentation, to make a reply more likely. Many phishing emails can take basically the same approach, only in digital form. That is, they might use all-caps subject lines (e.g., “URGENT:”) to make it seem like action is required. It isn’t. […]

Phishing is regularly associated with tactics such as a scammer telling someone they’ve won a prize, but it can also take the form of attempted extortion. Be wary of any email threatening to expose something about you unless you quickly submit payment. Simply delete it instead of engaging at all.