Email Scams - Examples and How to Avoid Becoming a Victim

Every single day, both on my personal and work email, I get unsolicited emails from unfamiliar sources. I always delete them. If I don't know them, they are gone. But, there are emails I get that look really legit. You know the ones.

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The emails look like they come from sites I visit, things I order, services I use, or things I might do or have done in the past. But, they are NOT real. They are only a scammer's attempt at getting to you through your email.

What are email scams called?

It's a fairly new term, but you have heard it used and read about it. It's phishing.

By definition,

Fraudulent Emails, Text Messages, Phone Calls & Social Media. As with any type of fraud, phishing can be extremely damaging and has already claimed victims on campus. Use these pages to find out more about phishing - what it is and what risks it poses.

- UMass.edu

What is a phishing scam email?

According to cisa.gov,

Phishing emails are crafted to look as if they've been sent from a legitimate organization. These emails attempt to fool you into visiting a bogus website to either download malware (viruses and other software intended to compromise your computer) or reveal sensitive personal information.

What does a phishing scam email look like?

Here are three that I recently reduced through my work email.

Holiday shopping shipping email phishing scam

This is an email phishing scam that wants you to click on the blue highlighted links. Don't do it! The red flag is the website email it was sent from. UPSshippingdepartmant.com

Leslie Morgan

I tried to go to the website, to check, and this is where it took me. Nowhere! The site doesn't exist.

Leslie Morgan

Never click on a link. If you are unsure, open up another browser, as I did, and see if the website is real. If it isn't, that means that the links are only there to get into your computer.

Speeding ticket email phishing scam

Leslie Morgan

Yes, I have been known to speed. And, yes, I've been known to get a ticket for it. But, the above email is a total phishing scam.

How do I know? Well, I have never been to Greenwich Village, CT. That's why.

Read the email a few times before you ever think about clicking. They are like confusing math story problems.

Search pattern email phishing scam

Leslie Morgan

The email seems like it might be real. My husband has a concrete business, so we have searched for concrete-related things quite a bit. But, it's not real.

This is an example of wanting you to click on an attachment. See the Invoice attachment in the top left of the email. Don't click that attachment. Why? There are so many things wrong with this email.

I've never ordered anything from this company.
It starts with, Hi
The email for the company doesn't have the company name in it or anything to do with concrete.
My payment was due 2 months ago and there is no reference to a late payment.
Email is powered by Hnry. (Nice try, Henry)

How to avoid getting scammed through your email

• Filter spam.

• Don’t trust unsolicited emails.

• Treat email attachments with caution.

• Don’t click links in email messages.

• Install antivirus software and keep it up to date.

• Install a personal firewall and keep it up to date.

• Configure your email client for security.

- cisa.gov

Always look for local and personal takes on scam attempts. Recent natural disasters have prompted a ton of scams. Political parties and candidate scams asking for money happen, too. Be careful, be smart, and don't click!!!

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