Scam Email of the Day 9-30-14 – Credit Report

Scam emails are something of the norm these days, even the FBI has been spoofed, and I believe folks are savvy enough to spot a fake. What are the goals of email scams? Many times, scam emails are ‘phishing’ for information using fear and through their tactics people supply legitimate, even highly sensitive, information.

A good rule of thumb is: if the email looks suspicious then it probably is. I have a post in the works, needing some research, regarding image copyright scam that is making its way around Seattle and it probably has many worried. Today’s post is a credit report scam that hit the inbox that is worth posting about.

Credit Summary Report for: Toby

The email looks somewhat official yet scrutinizing it thoroughly reveals sloppiness and poor quality within the scam. I’m mean, put some effort out. Gesh.

4 Items to Look in a Email Scam

1. The links direct to a strange looking website.
2. There are no graphics in the email.
3. There are two unsubscribe links.
4. The sender’s email address is unfamiliar and strange.

If you receive these type of emails there are ways to protect yourself.

4 Ways to Protect Yourself from Email Scams

1. Ask yourself, “did I ever sign up at this website?” or “for this service?”. If the answer is a “no” then delete email, block sender, or flag it as spam within the email client.
2. Never click on any links or attachments in the email as they are probably loaded with a keystroke logger. Before opening the email, read the subject line and only open if you can’t really answer the questions in item #1.
3. Report the email or scam to your attorney generals office as the scam might be new enough and hasn’t made the rounds yet. Help others while protecting yourself
4. Stay vigilant. Watching what is clicked on can save a lot of pain and suffering. There is nothing worse than dealing with identity theft or frustrating than dealing with a computer virus.

Hopefully today’s email scam has helped stop one person from getting harmed.