The drastic increase in rel=”nofollow”>cybercrimes made surfing the internet unsafe and risky. Cyber threats come in different forms such as phishing, spam emailing, and other suspicious online activities that can significantly cause damage, loss, and compromise. 

The importance of having the right knowledge to prevent spam emails is essential to internet users. You need to arm yourself against cybercriminals and know the measures to prevent online threats. Receiving spam emails are one of the most common cyber threats. Being able to recognise spam email is vital to avoid compromising your device, personal, and sensitive data.

Signs of a Spam Email

Email Sent From a Public Email Domain

Every legitimate organisation will never send emails that end in public email domains such as @gmail.com or @yahoo.com. Organisations typically have their own email domains and company accounts except for small start-up businesses or operations. The best indication that the email is legit if you see the domain name matches the supposed sender of the email. Also, another way to check the legitimacy of the email is by inputting the company name to Google. 

Many phishers are mimicking digital banks or financial platforms using emails to get your financial information. Thus, before responding, clicking links, or disclosing sensitive information, make sure to check the email address. 

The Domain Name Is Misspelled 

Another concrete example that the email might be a scam is when the domain name of the company is misspelled. Anyone has the right to buy domain names from a registrar and can easily spoof big companies by copying their domain name. However, it is required to garner a unique domain name but phishers have a lot of tricks up their sleeves where they can copy a company’s domain name when sending scam emails. Thus, if you are receiving emails from your bank, PayPal, and other financial platforms, make sure to check the spelling of the domain name. A slight difference in the spelling of the domain name is solid proof of a scam email. It also might happen that scammers hack one of the email accounts that belonged to some legit company. There was a pretty loud case of Australian company JCA which had this problem with hacked emails

Poor Email Content

Upon opening the email and you notice several misspelled words and poor grammar, it is a clear-cut sign that the email is not done by someone professional. Gullible people will likely fall into the scam by ignoring the hidden clues that pertain to the fact that the email is spam. Scams like these are typically manually operated by the scammer and can tell who is more likely to believe the scam. They choose their pool of respondents that shows vulnerability and limited know-how about the internet. 

Automated Cyber Attacks

Automated attacks are another trick used by scammers to reach a large number of people at a time while being able to respond to every email without manually replying. These messages are not meticulously crafted to address or relay a particular message. Instead, they throw in thousands of tailored messages to potential prospects. However, the loophole of such a trick is it significantly decreases the number of victims while others who are suspicious will be able to alert other people about the said scam. Thus, one of the best ways to check the legitimacy of the email is to thoroughly check the grammars. Most scammers came from non-English speaking locations that have limited knowledge about the English language. So, it is easier to spot if the email is written by someone without any knowledge about English grammar. 

Suspicious Links and Attachments

Another sign of a sketchy email is the attachments or links in the email that leads you to a risky website. It typically asks the respondents to download the attachment to click the link. If you do so and end up on a bogus website, your sensitive information such as bank details, credit card numbers, addresses, phone numbers, login details, and other personal information will be at risk. Unsafe attachments typically contain malware while suspicious links are links that lead you to a site that is far from what the message in the email contains.

Scam emails can lead to more serious problems such as fraud. The digital world is full of endless possibilities that are not yet fully regulated. Cybercriminals are out there and they are actively utilising the internet to steal your identity and money. Thus, the only way not to get victimised is to become more cautious and meticulous about your online activities. Be a responsible internet user and protect your identity. You will never know when and how cybercriminals will attack.