» Thu Dec 08, 2011 8:00 pm
Tips for spotting Phishers:
1. In the US, NO GOVERNMENT AGENCY SENDS EMAILS. Period.
2. Many email programs allow you to see where a link actually goes by hovering your mouse over the link. If the link does not match the actual address, DO NOT CLICK IT.
3. Typographical errors (spelling, bad noun/verb tense, lack of punctuation, etc.) are usually dead giveaways that an email is a fake.
4. The country of Nigeria is a Federal Republic and as such there are no "princes" or any other form of royalty. Any email from a Nigerian "Prince" is fake.
5. If you did not enter a lottery, you didn't win a lottery. Duh.
6. Many fake emails will contain links that look official. When in doubt, google the real company and see what their web address is and compare it to the links in the email. For example, Blizzard uses battle.net and a scammer may use battlenet.net.
7. Most legitimate businesses will not send links to a login page. This is always true of banks. If you receive an email that takes you directly to a login page of any kind, consider it a fake. If you believe a direct link is not a fake, go to the company's real website and go to the login page from there instead of using the link in the email, just to be safe.
8. Any email that asks you to DO something about a "security breach" is a fake. All legitimate businesses will notify you that a breach has occurred, but will not ask you to take any action or link you to a login page (or password confirmation/change page).