{"id":9427,"date":"2015-04-30T06:15:12","date_gmt":"2015-04-30T10:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=9427"},"modified":"2015-04-30T06:15:12","modified_gmt":"2015-04-30T10:15:12","slug":"45-of-all-users-cannot-tell-a-scam-email-from-a-safe-one-can-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/45-of-all-users-cannot-tell-a-scam-email-from-a-safe-one-can-you\/","title":{"rendered":"45% Of All Users Cannot Tell a Scam Email From a Safe One. Can You?"},"content":{"rendered":"

About this article…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Again, with permission of our friends at Emsisoft, we’re featuring this article about email safety and how you can tell spam and scams from safe email. Don’t scoff and think you know how to tell – it’s not as easy as it use to be. Scammers and spammers have honed their skills and now nearly half of all computer users (45%) are fooled by spam and scam emails. We \u00a0have covered this subject in our newsletters many times, but Emsisoft does an excellent job of covering some of the spam and scams you’re most likely to encounter, and help you tell a good email from a malicious one.<\/p>\n

Note: We agree with almost all of this article, we don’t agree with the idea of installing MailWasher. We have found MailWasher too aggressive and too slow; it is just as likely to throw the baby out with the bathwater as it is to protect you from nefarious emails. We don’t recommend or endorse MailWasher.<\/em><\/p>\n

We do recommend and endorse Emsisoft<\/a> <\/span>because we have, by now, seen it in action on hundreds of computers and we know that Emsisoft can help protect you from the threats you’re most likely to encounter every time you’re online. You can learn more about Emsisoft Anti-Malware (and antivirus) here<\/span><\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n

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How to recognize the difference between a safe email and a scam<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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From Emsisoft’s Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Over one billion consumers send and receive email\u00a0on a daily basis. Of those, eighty thousand\u00a0are victimized by scams everyday and a total of four million people\u00a0fall prey to scams annually. It is essential for everyone to learn to differentiate a safe email from a potential scam because carelessly opening attachments and messages may leave you facing the aftermath of financial loss and identity theft.<\/p>\n

45% of users are fooled by email\u00a0scams and face financial loss or identity theft<\/h3>\n

According to Scamdex<\/a>, these\u00a0are the top five types of\u00a0email\u00a0scams that you need to watch out for:<\/p>\n

#1)\u00a0Employment scams \u2013 fake job offers (work from home)
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These types of scams typically target people looking for or changing jobs. The\u00a0majority of the employment opportunities on the internet are work from home jobs\u00a0that\u00a0promise a large sum of income for a small amount of work.\u00a0Many employment offers as these are a form of check fraud which means scammers will illegally use a victim\u2019s\u00a0checks to borrow funds that do not exist within the account. You can often recognize these type of scams by the use\u00a0of pictures with money or cars, testimonials, payment fees, and loud text.<\/p>\n

\"152204_WorkFromHomeScam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Keep in mind that many work from home job offerings are often too good to be true. Use common sense and be on the lookout for job email\u00a0scams that promise you a high wage for easy work or little work. Never give out your personal details to crooks sending you unsuspecting work from home career opportunities by email. Do not reply to the message, just discard it before scammers even have a chance to obtain your email\u00a0address.<\/p>\n

#2)\u00a0Auction scams \u2013 fake messages from online shopping sites such as eBay and Amazon
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Everyone loves shopping online. Unfortunately, scammers use the opportunity to rip off shoppers that may be unaware they are being scammed. Be weary of products advertised at a low price, poor ratings on an auction, completing a transaction outside of the auction,\u00a0and a seller insisting on\u00a0immediate payment.<\/p>\n

Scammers pretend to sell a product at a very cheap price in order to steal your credit card and bank account details. Another trick scammers use in online auctions is entering a low bid followed by a very high bid using a different name on a product you are selling. Also beware of \u201cmiracle\u201d products for sale online that seemingly provide unbelievable cures and weight loss capabilities.<\/p>\n

\"152204_EbayScam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Always find out exactly who and what you are dealing with in online auctions\u00a0and\u00a0ensure payment methods are secure by using an https\/\/: web address.\u00a0 Also, take a look at the auction privacy policy and refund\/returns policy to be sure everything seems fair.<\/p>\n

#3) Phishing scams \u2013 fake messages from Paypal, social security administration, and banks
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Of the 1%<\/strong> of users that lost money through phishing scams, 53%<\/strong>were not compensated by their bank and\u00a011%<\/strong>\u00a0say they are still waiting for compensation.\u00a0According to research conducted byGoogle<\/a> involving phishing attacks:<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of us think we\u2019re too smart to fall for phishing, but our research found some fake websites worked a whopping 45%<\/strong> of the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"152204_PhishingBankEmail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Phishing email\u00a0scams often resemble official-looking messages from retailers<\/strong>, Facebook, banks, Paypal, and eBay. The messages often ask you to confirm details that warn you to take immediate action involving your account, such as confirming your bank account details. Most phishing emails\u00a0contain special links that route you to genuine and spoofed websites. Do not fall for the massive number of\u00a0 shipping label and package tracking scams that claim you have a package on its way by means of a popular shipping service such as Fedex or UPS.<\/p>\n

\"152204_FakePaypalE-Mail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In order to prevent yourself from being a victim,\u00a0you should never send money or give personal details to strangers. Keep a periodic check on your credit card and bank statements and shred all important documents containing personal information. Always log in to a website directly and don\u2019t click on suspicious links within an email\u00a0message.<\/p>\n

Google<\/a> also discovered that users may not have much time to recover or change their login information before hackers access their account.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround 20%<\/strong> of hijacked accounts are accessed within 30 minutes<\/strong> of a hacker obtaining the login info.\u201d<\/p>\n

#4)\u00a0Lottery and giveaway scams \u2013 the foreign lottery, competitions, and free vacation giveaways
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Lottery and competition scams promise a recipient a big prize\u00a0or something else to win. These types of scams are delivered in a variety of ways including \u2013 over the phone, in person, email\u00a0or by conventional mail.\u00a0The scammer will present that you have won a substantial amount of money and that all you have to do to\u00a0claim the prize is\u00a0to send money to pay fees such as taxes, customs duty, shipping, etc. Typically, users\u2019 requests to take the fees out of the winnings; but, always receive the same response from the criminals: \u201cwe cannot do that\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"152204_LotteryEMailScam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Be wary of vacation scams that promise you a free vacation which requires you to pay a supposed service charge or purchase a membership to a travel club. Always seek the advice of a financial or legal expert before sending money.<\/p>\n

#5 ) Advanced fee fraud scams \u2013 Promises of sending money, products, services, and special deals
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Advanced fee fraud is a popular email\u00a0scam that is also known as upfront fee fraud. It is any scam that charges you a fee and in exchange promises to send you money, products, services, and special deals. In addition to this, you may also be asked to assist in removing funds from a country in turmoil or help law enforcement catch thieves.<\/p>\n

The most prevalent type of scam that hit a massive amount of users is referred to as the 419 Nigerian Scam. A scammer typically will contact someone\u00a0by letter or email\u00a0and offer a share in a large sum of money which they want to export from their country. The recipient is\u00a0then asked to pay money or give bank details to help with the money transfer. The victim\u00a0must pay fees, charges and taxes to help release the money out of the country or bank account.\u00a0The scammers continue to make up fees that you must pay before you can receive your money.<\/p>\n

\"152204_NigerianScam\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Off course\u00a0you will never be sent the supposed promised funds. According to the Nigerian Fraud Watch<\/a> website, victims have lost a shocking 12.7 billion dollars<\/strong> due to this scam.<\/p>\n

Users perceive emails\u00a0by what\u00a0they see with the naked eye<\/h3>\n

\"Human<\/p>\n

Four popular universities \u2013 University of Buffalo, Brock University, Ball State University, and University of Texas in Arlington \u2013 conducted a\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0and launched a phishing attack against a group of users. The purpose of this was to discover the psychological reason behind why people fall victim to phishing spam\u00a0emails. They state:<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>Our results indicate that people process most phishing emails peripherally and make decisions based on simple cues embedded in the email<\/strong>. Interestingly, urgency cues, i.e., threats and warnings, in the email stimulated increased information processing, short-circuiting the resources available for attending to other cues that could potentially help detect the deception.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study reached a few conclusions:<\/p>\n

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  1. Users only process what they see with their eyes and do not perceive the potential scam with their mind.<\/li>\n
  2. Users make decisions to open and read an email\u00a0based on captivating titles, graphics, testimonials, and matters of urgency such as \u201cyour bank account will be deactivated if you don\u2019t respond now\u201d. The element of fear also plays a part because a user is often scared by the title or content of an email\u00a0without asking how this is possible or why is this happening.<\/li>\n
  3. Urgency cues in an email stimulate information overload. Too much is often happening within an email and that leads to the brain processing too much at one time leading to an information overload. Use of catchy titles and influential content\/graphics cause users to often miss an alert from their security product or a warning message from an email\u00a0filter that could alert them and potentially flag the scam they are about to fall victim to.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u201cThe findings suggest that habitual patterns of media use combined with high levels of email load<\/strong> have a strong and significant influence on individuals\u2019 likelihood to be phished.\u201d<\/p>\n

    How to avoid being victimized by email\u00a0scams<\/h3>\n