Spoofing and Phishing are terms used to describe the act of collecting personal information, which is then used to commit identity theft and/or internet fraud. There are thousands of fake emails that are distributed every day looking to collect personal information, and this problem is growing at an alarming rate

For the moment there are a lot of such emails in the internet world, and the problem is increasing every day, therefore we thought it appropriate to start Part 1 with some tips for recognizing spoof [fake] emails.


10 Ways To Recognize Spoof And Phishing Emails

1. Watch For Generic Greetings
Many spoof emails start with a generic greeting like "Dear Customer" or "Hi" without any name attached. In fact if your first name and last name don't appear you should be very suspicious, and not reply or click links attached. Remember your bank or credit card company know who you are, so they will always address you by your full name.

2. A Fake Return Email Address
A spoof email almost always shows a fake email address in the 'From' field. This field is very easy to alter and thus spoofers take advantage of it. However you can look to see where the email really originated from just by checking email properties.

3. Email Is Urgent
Many spoof emails try to deceive you by making the problem appear urgent. Telling you that you must update information by a specific date, or your account will be closed. Or telling you your account has been suspended until you provide them with specific information. They may also state that an unauthorized transaction has recently occurred on your account, or claim that one of your credit accounts companies is updating its accounts, and needs information fast. This is your first clue it is spoof.


4. Fake links
Never use a link provided in an email, unless you are positive where it comes from. Always check where a link is going before you click. You can do this by moving your mouse over the link, and it will show the URL in your browser or email status bar. Fraudulent links are very dangerous, because if you click on one, it could either take you to a spoof website designed to collect your personal data, or install Spyware on your system, which we will discuss later, or download a virus that could disable your computer.

5. Emails That Look Like Websites
Some emails will look like a website in order to get you to enter personal information. Remember Credit Card Companies and banks will never ask for personal information in an email.

Deceptive URLs.
Never ever enter your credit card information from a link through email. Always access it directly from the company website. Remember any site that requires passwords should begin with https://www.company.com.

If you see an @ sign in the middle of a URL, there's a good chance this is a spoof. Legitimate companies use a domain name such as https://www.company.com

Even if a URL contains the word of your credit company, it may not be a credit company site. Many of these links will take you to a website that looks exactly like the original site, but the web address will be incorrect. Ebay and Paypal websites are constantly forged creating a dangerous situation. Always log in to your credit card companie's site by opening a new web browser and typing in the following: https://www.company.com

6. Misspellings And Poor Grammar
If spoofers want to really fool alert email recipients, they are going to have to do a lot better with their spelling and grammar. Spoof emails often contain misspellings, incorrect grammar, missing words and gaps in logic. Mistakes also help fraudsters avoid spam filters.

7. Sites That Aren't Safe
The term "https" should always precede any website address where you enter personal information. The "s" stands for secure. If you don't see "https," you're not in a secure web session, and you should not enter data.

8. Pop-up Boxes
Credit card companies will never use a pop-up box in an email as pop-ups are not secure.

9. Attachments
Like fake links, attachments are frequently used in spoof emails and are very dangerous. Never click on an attachment as it could contain a virus or download spyware that could be dangerous to your system. Banks and credit card companies will never email you an attachment or a software update to install on your computer.

10. Set Filters High
It's a good idea to keep your virus software and spam filters very high, and on top of that be your own human filter only opening attachments from people you know, never clicking internal email links, and always staying on top of protecting your personal information.

If you follow the above steps every time you have to enter personal information, especially about your financial accounts, you have a very good chance keeping secure with your personal financial data, and if you receive a suspicious email, always forward it to your credit card company and have them verify the email.