8+ Tips on How to Spot Online Scammers
Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2025 6:00 am
Blogcyberattack , Microsoft , information technology , tndbrasil , ukraine and russia
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that.
1. Verify your email address
Before you click on a link in an email or reply, take a look at the From field . It consists of two parts: one for the sender's name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The venezuela whatsapp list name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they pretend to represent.
But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much harder, so that’s where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the actual sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or will be similar to the real one but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (e.g. the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc.
Found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender's address completely meaningless? Don't reply or click on any links, send it to the Spam folder immediately.
2. Examine the links in the email
If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons such as “Get a discount”, “Claim your freebie”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it.
If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company's official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say, .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page.
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that. 1. Check the email address Before you click on a link in an email or reply to it, take a look at the From field. It consists of two parts: one for the sender’s name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The sender’s name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they’re pretending to represent. But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much more difficult, so this is where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the real sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or it will be similar to the real one, but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (for example, the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc. Have you found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender’s address completely meaningless? Do not reply or click on any links; send it to the Spam folder immediately. 2. Examine the links in the email If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons like “Get a discount”, “Get your free gift”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click it by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company’s official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page. Always check what is actually behind a button or link Always check what is actually behind a button or link In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it does not, it is most likely a scam. 3. Take a look at the site's security certificate Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns the site — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of the menu items may be slightly different). Click on the padlock to the left of the URL. In the window that appears, select The connection is secure. Click on The certificate is valid. · Make sure the Issued To field contains the name of the company that owns the website.How to check a website's SSL certificate The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and the data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It is quite easy to obtain such a certificate, but fortunately not in the name of another company. Therefore, if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure that the name is correct). What if there is no padlock? This means that the data sent to and from the website is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the website owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea. 4. Check who registered the domain and when You can view additional information about the website domain using the Whois service. It provides data on all current IP addresses and domain names. Enter the URL you want to check in the relevant field and see when the domain was registered and by whom. Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains The domain registration date is shown in the “Registered on” line. If a website claims to be the official source of a reputable company with a long history, but the Whois says it is only a few months old, you are dealing with scammers. It is also worth looking at who the domain is registered to. The owner's contact information can be found in the “Registrant Contact” section. If the company is serious, at least its name will be shown there, and often also its address, phone number and other details. If the website claims to belong to a large company, but the Whois displays “Private person” in the owner field, the resource is not trustworthy. Of course, it is usually good if a domain is registered by an individual, but if the website claims to be part of a large corporation, it is nothing but suspicious. 5. Check the content of the website Study the website in more detail: if it consists of only one or two pages, it is very likely to be fake. Cybercriminals use such cheap and easy websites to promote fake Burning Man tickets, scam cryptocurrency investors, or give away PlayStation 5 consoles. Official corporate websites always have many sections with useful information: news, company history, products and services, partners, etc. 6. Bookmark important websites Add all the websites you visit frequently to your bookmarks and open them only from there – this way you eliminate the risk of accidentally opening a fake page. It is especially important to do this for websites where you enter personal data, be it social networks, online banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, or email clients. You can bookmark a website by clicking on the star icon to the right of the address bar. 7.Be extra careful with payments and money transfers Of course, there is no need to study a website in such detail if you are just going there to read an article or watch a video. But if you plan to enter payment details, you should always do so. Does the website address look strange? Does the page contain typos or strange design elements? Does the page have a proper SSL certificate (see above)? Only enter your data if everything is in order. 8. Trust the professionals Even the most vigilant users sometimes make mistakes. But there is good news: website verification can be automated using a reliable solution with protection against spam, phishing and online fraud. This will detect and block any threats in real time.
Always check what is actually behind a button or link
In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it doesn’t, it’s likely a scam.
3. Take a look at the website's security certificate
Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns a website — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of menu items may be slightly different).
· Click the padlock to the left of the URL.
· In the window that appears, select The connection is secure .
· Click The certificate is valid .
· Make sure that the Issued to field contains the name of the company that owns the website.
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that. 1. Check the email address Before you click on a link in an email or reply to it, take a look at the From field. It consists of two parts: one for the sender’s name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The sender’s name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they’re pretending to represent. But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much more difficult, so this is where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the real sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or it will be similar to the real one, but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (for example, the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc. Have you found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender’s address completely meaningless? Do not reply or click on any links; send it to the Spam folder immediately. 2. Examine the links in the email If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons like “Get a discount”, “Get your free gift”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click it by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company’s official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page. Always check what is actually behind a button or link Always check what is actually behind a button or link In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it does not, it is most likely a scam. 3. Take a look at the site's security certificate Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns the site — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of the menu items may be slightly different). Click on the padlock to the left of the URL. In the window that appears, select The connection is secure. Click on The certificate is valid. · Make sure the Issued To field contains the name of the company that owns the website.How to check a website's SSL certificate The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and the data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It is quite easy to obtain such a certificate, but fortunately not in the name of another company. Therefore, if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure that the name is correct). What if there is no padlock? This means that the data sent to and from the website is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the website owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea. 4. Check who registered the domain and when You can view additional information about the website domain using the Whois service. It provides data on all current IP addresses and domain names. Enter the URL you want to check in the relevant field and see when the domain was registered and by whom. Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains The domain registration date is shown in the “Registered on” line. If a website claims to be the official source of a reputable company with a long history, but the Whois says it is only a few months old, you are dealing with scammers. It is also worth looking at who the domain is registered to. The owner's contact information can be found in the “Registrant Contact” section. If the company is serious, at least its name will be shown there, and often also its address, phone number and other details. If the website claims to belong to a large company, but the Whois displays “Private person” in the owner field, the resource is not trustworthy. Of course, it is usually good if a domain is registered by an individual, but if the website claims to be part of a large corporation, it is nothing but suspicious. 5. Check the content of the website Study the website in more detail: if it consists of only one or two pages, it is very likely to be fake. Cybercriminals use such cheap and easy websites to promote fake Burning Man tickets, scam cryptocurrency investors, or give away PlayStation 5 consoles. Official corporate websites always have many sections with useful information: news, company history, products and services, partners, etc. 6. Bookmark important websites Add all the websites you visit frequently to your bookmarks and open them only from there – this way you eliminate the risk of accidentally opening a fake page. It is especially important to do this for websites where you enter personal data, be it social networks, online banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, or email clients. You can bookmark a website by clicking on the star icon to the right of the address bar. 7.Be extra careful with payments and money transfers Of course, there is no need to study a website in such detail if you are just going there to read an article or watch a video. But if you plan to enter payment details, you should always do so. Does the website address look strange? Does the page contain typos or strange design elements? Does the page have a proper SSL certificate (see above)? Only enter your data if everything is in order. 8. Trust the professionals Even the most vigilant users sometimes make mistakes. But there is good news: website verification can be automated using a reliable solution with protection against spam, phishing and online fraud. This will detect and block any threats in real time.
The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and that data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It's fairly easy to get such a certificate, but fortunately it's not in another company's name. So if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure the name is correct).
What if there is no lock? This means that data sent to and from the site is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the site owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea.
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that.
1. Verify your email address
Before you click on a link in an email or reply, take a look at the From field . It consists of two parts: one for the sender's name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The venezuela whatsapp list name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they pretend to represent.
But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much harder, so that’s where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the actual sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or will be similar to the real one but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (e.g. the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc.
Found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender's address completely meaningless? Don't reply or click on any links, send it to the Spam folder immediately.
2. Examine the links in the email
If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons such as “Get a discount”, “Claim your freebie”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it.
If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company's official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say, .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page.
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that. 1. Check the email address Before you click on a link in an email or reply to it, take a look at the From field. It consists of two parts: one for the sender’s name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The sender’s name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they’re pretending to represent. But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much more difficult, so this is where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the real sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or it will be similar to the real one, but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (for example, the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc. Have you found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender’s address completely meaningless? Do not reply or click on any links; send it to the Spam folder immediately. 2. Examine the links in the email If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons like “Get a discount”, “Get your free gift”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click it by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company’s official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page. Always check what is actually behind a button or link Always check what is actually behind a button or link In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it does not, it is most likely a scam. 3. Take a look at the site's security certificate Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns the site — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of the menu items may be slightly different). Click on the padlock to the left of the URL. In the window that appears, select The connection is secure. Click on The certificate is valid. · Make sure the Issued To field contains the name of the company that owns the website.How to check a website's SSL certificate The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and the data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It is quite easy to obtain such a certificate, but fortunately not in the name of another company. Therefore, if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure that the name is correct). What if there is no padlock? This means that the data sent to and from the website is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the website owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea. 4. Check who registered the domain and when You can view additional information about the website domain using the Whois service. It provides data on all current IP addresses and domain names. Enter the URL you want to check in the relevant field and see when the domain was registered and by whom. Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains The domain registration date is shown in the “Registered on” line. If a website claims to be the official source of a reputable company with a long history, but the Whois says it is only a few months old, you are dealing with scammers. It is also worth looking at who the domain is registered to. The owner's contact information can be found in the “Registrant Contact” section. If the company is serious, at least its name will be shown there, and often also its address, phone number and other details. If the website claims to belong to a large company, but the Whois displays “Private person” in the owner field, the resource is not trustworthy. Of course, it is usually good if a domain is registered by an individual, but if the website claims to be part of a large corporation, it is nothing but suspicious. 5. Check the content of the website Study the website in more detail: if it consists of only one or two pages, it is very likely to be fake. Cybercriminals use such cheap and easy websites to promote fake Burning Man tickets, scam cryptocurrency investors, or give away PlayStation 5 consoles. Official corporate websites always have many sections with useful information: news, company history, products and services, partners, etc. 6. Bookmark important websites Add all the websites you visit frequently to your bookmarks and open them only from there – this way you eliminate the risk of accidentally opening a fake page. It is especially important to do this for websites where you enter personal data, be it social networks, online banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, or email clients. You can bookmark a website by clicking on the star icon to the right of the address bar. 7.Be extra careful with payments and money transfers Of course, there is no need to study a website in such detail if you are just going there to read an article or watch a video. But if you plan to enter payment details, you should always do so. Does the website address look strange? Does the page contain typos or strange design elements? Does the page have a proper SSL certificate (see above)? Only enter your data if everything is in order. 8. Trust the professionals Even the most vigilant users sometimes make mistakes. But there is good news: website verification can be automated using a reliable solution with protection against spam, phishing and online fraud. This will detect and block any threats in real time.
Always check what is actually behind a button or link
In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it doesn’t, it’s likely a scam.
3. Take a look at the website's security certificate
Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns a website — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of menu items may be slightly different).
· Click the padlock to the left of the URL.
· In the window that appears, select The connection is secure .
· Click The certificate is valid .
· Make sure that the Issued to field contains the name of the company that owns the website.
We’ve already covered the most obvious signs that someone is trying to scam you online. But it’s not always easy to spot a scam at first glance. So before you transfer money or enter your card details, it’s worth spending a little extra time and effort checking emails and websites. To help, we’ve compiled eight tips to guide you on how to do just that. 1. Check the email address Before you click on a link in an email or reply to it, take a look at the From field. It consists of two parts: one for the sender’s name, and one (more importantly) for the actual email address. The sender’s name can be anything, which scammers often exploit by using the name of the company they’re pretending to represent. But replacing the actual email address (the part with the @ sign) is much more difficult, so this is where attackers can slip up. In most fraudulent emails, the real sender’s address will either have nothing to do with the company being impersonated, or it will be similar to the real one, but not identical — with one or more characters replaced (for example, the letter “O” with the number “0”), an extra word, etc. Have you found a typo or inconsistency? Or is the sender’s address completely meaningless? Do not reply or click on any links; send it to the Spam folder immediately. 2. Examine the links in the email If the message contains hyperlinks or buttons like “Get a discount”, “Get your free gift”, “Read more” or any other obvious call to action, always check what is behind it. If you hover your mouse cursor over the link or button (be careful not to click it by mistake), you will see the real address of the web resource that the senders want you to visit. Find the company’s official website in a search engine and compare the URL with the link in the email. If the addresses do not match, for example, the link has a different domain (say .org or some .xyz instead of .com), do not open the page. Always check what is actually behind a button or link Always check what is actually behind a button or link In the meantime, go to the official website in the search results and see if it mentions the discount/gift/promotion that the suspicious email is reporting. If it does not, it is most likely a scam. 3. Take a look at the site's security certificate Some characters are so similar that it is easy to be fooled by the naked eye. Therefore, we suggest another quick way to check who owns the site — after you have visited it. Let's consider the example of Google Chrome (in other browsers, the names of the menu items may be slightly different). Click on the padlock to the left of the URL. In the window that appears, select The connection is secure. Click on The certificate is valid. · Make sure the Issued To field contains the name of the company that owns the website.How to check a website's SSL certificate The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and the data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It is quite easy to obtain such a certificate, but fortunately not in the name of another company. Therefore, if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure that the name is correct). What if there is no padlock? This means that the data sent to and from the website is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the website owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea. 4. Check who registered the domain and when You can view additional information about the website domain using the Whois service. It provides data on all current IP addresses and domain names. Enter the URL you want to check in the relevant field and see when the domain was registered and by whom. Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains Difference in Whois between corporate and private domains The domain registration date is shown in the “Registered on” line. If a website claims to be the official source of a reputable company with a long history, but the Whois says it is only a few months old, you are dealing with scammers. It is also worth looking at who the domain is registered to. The owner's contact information can be found in the “Registrant Contact” section. If the company is serious, at least its name will be shown there, and often also its address, phone number and other details. If the website claims to belong to a large company, but the Whois displays “Private person” in the owner field, the resource is not trustworthy. Of course, it is usually good if a domain is registered by an individual, but if the website claims to be part of a large corporation, it is nothing but suspicious. 5. Check the content of the website Study the website in more detail: if it consists of only one or two pages, it is very likely to be fake. Cybercriminals use such cheap and easy websites to promote fake Burning Man tickets, scam cryptocurrency investors, or give away PlayStation 5 consoles. Official corporate websites always have many sections with useful information: news, company history, products and services, partners, etc. 6. Bookmark important websites Add all the websites you visit frequently to your bookmarks and open them only from there – this way you eliminate the risk of accidentally opening a fake page. It is especially important to do this for websites where you enter personal data, be it social networks, online banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, or email clients. You can bookmark a website by clicking on the star icon to the right of the address bar. 7.Be extra careful with payments and money transfers Of course, there is no need to study a website in such detail if you are just going there to read an article or watch a video. But if you plan to enter payment details, you should always do so. Does the website address look strange? Does the page contain typos or strange design elements? Does the page have a proper SSL certificate (see above)? Only enter your data if everything is in order. 8. Trust the professionals Even the most vigilant users sometimes make mistakes. But there is good news: website verification can be automated using a reliable solution with protection against spam, phishing and online fraud. This will detect and block any threats in real time.
The padlock indicates that the website is certified by an independent organization and that data to and from it is encrypted. We just saw the certificate confirming this. It's fairly easy to get such a certificate, but fortunately it's not in another company's name. So if the name of the company or organization appears on the certificate, it can usually be trusted (just make sure the name is correct).
What if there is no lock? This means that data sent to and from the site is not protected and can be intercepted not only by the site owners, but also by third parties, so entering confidential information is definitely a bad idea.