TECH TIPS

HOW TO SPOT A SCAM in your Email Inbox

It breaks my little nerdy heart to see so many scams across the digital world. When scammers end up right in your email inbox, it can be especially jarring. Email scammers use a technique called “Phishing” - a term used to “lure” you into giving personal information, passwords, and even money. These digital bad guys can be quite crafty, but here are some great tips that can help you spot a fake or scam email.

Miranda Gilbert Girl Geek Communications

If an offer is too good to be true, it likely is.

• These types of scams can range from unbelievable prices on goods, to winning the lottery. • Arabian Princes don’t send random people money, and you can’t win a contest that you didn’t enter.

Watch for spelling, grammar, urgency, and threats.

• Does the message contain broken English, bad spelling, or urge you to take action quickly? • before something bad happens (i.e. click this link or your account will be frozen)? • Online scammers use fear to try to get you to act without thinking it through.

Sending email address.

• Take a close look at the email address the message was sent from. Scammers often use free, public email addresses (such as gmail. com, hotmail.com or yahoo.com). The more sophisticated phishers use email addresses that are close to the real thing, but not legit. Such as: micosoft.com (look closely, it’s missing an “r”) or wellsfargo.ru (see how the end of the site name looks funny)

Links go to phony scam sites.

• If you click on a link within a spam email, it can lead to you a site that looks very similar to the real thing. Take a close look at the site and make sure that it looks like something you’ve seen before. Watch for misspellings or graphics that look strange, and always look at the name of the website that the link took you to.

When in doubt, ask a trusted friend.

• If you aren’t sure about the legitimacy of the email, forward it to a trusted family member or friend. Or even take a photo of it with your phone and text it to them. These digital bad guys are VERY GOOD at being bad! But two sets of eyes can often spot trouble.

Our best defense against fraudsters is knowledge - so educate yourself and be on the lookout for these villains! You can also report digital fraud to a variety of government agencies and private companies. A good place to report fraud is the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.

gov.