If you think that an email may be a scam, there are several steps you can take to verify the sender and confirm whether it’s authentic.
The first is to look at the email address. If it does not match up with the company or website name in the body of the message, then it’s likely to be a scam. Look closely at the URL in the email, as scammers commonly use slight variations of legitimate companies or websites to make it look more authentic.
Another tip is to pay attention to spelling mistakes and grammar errors in the body of the message – if these are present, then it’s likely that this is not a legitimate email.
If you believe that an email is a scam, you can report it to the company via their official website or directly to your email provider. The authorities will then investigate and take any necessary steps to protect consumers from fraudsters.
Master of disguise
or not, spam emails can be spotted if you pay close attention to the sender name, email address and content of the message. If something doesn’t look right, stay alert – it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Remember that no matter how believable an email may seem, you should always take the time to verify its authenticity before responding or taking any action. This way, you can ensure that your personal information and data stay secure.
By following these simple steps, you can help to protect yourself from falling victim to the latest scams and phishing attempts circulating online. Stay safe out there!
Right click
on the link, select “copy hyperlink”, and then paste it into a Notepad document. This is a great way to double-check the true destination of the link before clicking on it – if you don’t recognise where it leads to, or if it looks suspicious, avoid clicking through. It may be that what appears to link to the Apple site, actually links to a completely different (and much more dangerous) website.
If you do click on any suspicious links, take immediate steps to protect your online security by running a scan of your device and changing your passwords for any accounts that may have been compromised.
Finding email headers
is also an effective way to verify the source of any suspicious email. Most email programs allow you to access the headers from within your account settings, which provide a detailed log of where the message came from and who has handled it along its route. This information can be invaluable in helping to identify fraudulent emails and report them accordingly.
Reading email headers
may seem daunting at first, but it’s actually quite straightforward. They are usually laid out in reverse chronological order – from bottom to top – so start by looking at the most recent ‘Received from’ entry and work your way backwards. This will help you trace the email’s journey back to its source and see exactly who has handled it along its route.
Once you know what to look for, reading email headers can help you to identify any suspicious activity that may indicate a scam or phishing attempt. This will enable you to take the necessary steps to protect yourself and your data from any malicious actors online.
Below is an example of a broken down email header, shown from bottom to top:
Received from randomserver.com ([10.11.12.123]) by cdptpa-fep04.email.rr.com (InterMail vM.8.04.01.13201-2343-100-167-20161006) with ESMTP id<20151119042833.QXMB15673.randomserver.com> for <[redacted]>; Thu, 6 Oct 2016 04:28:33 +0000
Received from 192.0.2.10 ([192.0.2.10:39015]helo= cust-smtp-auth2randomisp.co.uk) by cdptpa-iedge07 (envelope-from<e-mail@randomdomain.com>) (ecelerity 3.5.0.35861 r(Momo-dev:tip)) with ESMTPid 28/00-20029-1FF4D465; Thur, 6 Oct 2016 04:28:33 +0000
This email header tells us that the message was sent from randomserver.com, to an address hosted at cdptpa-fep04.email.rr.com, then passed on to 192.0.2.10 and finally delivered to the recipient’s inbox at cdptpa-iedge07. It also tells us the specific time and date that the message was sent, as well as any additional information related to the message’s journey across the internet.
Using email headers can be a great way to identify suspicious messages or activities – but it’s important not to jump to conclusions until you have thoroughly investigated the source of an email.
If you ever have any doubts about the authenticity of an email, make sure to take the necessary steps to protect your online security. Remember: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
From the header we can find out more about the email’s journey, like:
1. The IP address that the email originated from (12.34.56.67);
2. The ‘hop’ between the sender and their mail provider (192.0.2.10);
3. The ‘hop’ between the mail provider and the recipient’s mail server or service provider (10.11.12.123).
This information can be invaluable in helping to identify fraudulent emails and report them accordingly. By familiarizing yourself with the structure of email headers, you can quickly and easily verify the source of any suspicious activity and take steps to protect your online security.
By taking a few moments to confirm the origin of any message, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and headaches down the road.
So make sure to take the time to read and understand email headers – it may just save you from becoming a victim of fraud.
If you have identified an unsolicited or fraudulent message, reporting it to the relevant Internet Service Provider (ISP) can help them identify spammers on their network and take action against them. To do so, you will need to email them a copy of the email headers and content.
From this, you can see that for the example IP address found in the email header, the ISP is Fasthosts Internet Limited, and the address to report spam to is abuse@Infotera.co.