5 Common Email Scams Security Experts Want You To Know About–They Put Your Personal Data At Risk!

Urgent Offers

Is anything really all that urgent that you MUST click on the link today or else you’ll lose out on money and material goods? If you receive an email with an urgent offer that seems too good to be true, it probably is. Some ways to tell it’s a scam:

— The email comes from a company you’ve never heard of.

— No dates are given as to when the urgent offer expires. 

— You’re singled out for an exclusive opportunity.

— The email requires that you make a financial transaction to benefit from the deal. 

Scary Government Emails 

No, the IRS doesn’t send you scary emails to collect money. These problematic scams are designed to look as if they come from a government agency and they hint that you’re in some kind of trouble and have to take action. Signs to look for: 

— The IRS wouldn’t send you an email like this.

— The IRS would identify the recipient by name. 

— The sender’s email address is not correct. 

— The URL destinations (when hovered over it — never click on it) doesn’t lead to an official government website. 

You Won the Lotto

Chances are you didn’t win the lottery (and that goes triple if you never play). These emails claim your name has been entered into some amazing lottery and, lo and behold, you’ve won millions of dollars and need to click on a random link to collect. 

— The sender is often a person, not a company — something that an actual company would never do. 

— No one is listed as the recipient. 

— The message can contain typos. 

— If you Google it, you find there is no such lottery 

Surveys

A final popular email scam is the survey that can be about any topic under the sun — from voting to beauty products. This scam can be identified in a few ways: 

— Your email service provider flags the message as questionable. 

— The sender’s email address contains a number of letters and numbers that are random and seem fake.

— The sender doesn’t identify you by name. 

— The email asks you to click on downloaded images. 

One of the most important reminders of all is not to click on any links in any of the scams mentioned here — doing this alone can result in you downloading spyware and malicious software to your computer or phone.