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faq:email:identify-spam-mail [2019/10/04 14:39] (current) vikki created |
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+ | ====== How to identify whether an email is a spam mail? ====== | ||
+ | Spam mails, a.k.a. junk mails, are unwanted or irrelevant emails that land in your mailbox. While the advertising-type of spam emails are harmless but annoying, there are other types of spam mails that you need to be aware of: phishing and malware spreading emails. | ||
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+ | Phishing mails trick you into believing that they are sent from a legitimate and trusted company (such as banks or your business partners), and attempt to obtain your personal information. They will then use your information for fraudulent purposes. | ||
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+ | Malware spreading emails come in suspicious attachments (or a url that links to the attachment), | ||
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+ | To protect yourself from phishing scams and malicious attack, here are some ways to determine whether a specific email is a spam mail. | ||
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+ | ===== It Asks for Personal Information ===== | ||
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+ | A legitimate company and bank will never ask you for personal and sensitive information – such as identification number, username and password – over email. If you receive any email that requires these information, | ||
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+ | ===== It Has Misspelled Sender Name and Email Address ===== | ||
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+ | When receiving any email, even if it looks like it is from your regular sender, do look out for the sender name, domain and email address. Scammers could fake a domain or email by slightly changing their spelling, e.g. jameswonder@somecompany.com to jameswander@smecompany.com. | ||
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+ | ===== It Contains Grammatical or Spelling Errors ===== | ||
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+ | A brand will never risk making a bad impression with spelling errors. That said, if you receive an email that contains more than two or three grammatical mistakes, or if it is poorly written, it is possibly a spam mail. | ||
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+ | ===== It Adopts Exciting Offer or Scare Tactics ===== | ||
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+ | Beware of emails offering rewards, cash prizes, etc, and those that attempt to threaten you, such as asking you to click on a link or your email account would be terminated. These are all spam mails, designed to tempt you into clicking a button or link in the email, which could lead you to phishing sites, tapping your personal information. | ||
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+ | ===== It Contains Suspicious Attachments ===== | ||
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+ | Never open or download an attachment from an email unless you know what they are. If you happen to know the sender and choose to download the attachment, it is a good practice to always scan it using antivirus software. If you have doubts, contact the sender to verify if the attachment is genuine. | ||
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+ | ===== It Contains Suspicious URL Links ===== | ||
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+ | If an email contains links, hover your mouse over the link (without clicking) to see the full URL. If it does not match the context, it is probably a malicious link. Beware of slight alterations to URLS that you visit frequently, too. For example, companyabcsite.com might appear as companyabsite.com. |