5 Convincing Phishing Emails to Watch Out For…
Fraudsters are getting cleverer. Phishing emails are moving from easy-to-spot, plain text emails to designs that appear at first glance to be genuine.
Phishing emails now often contain company logos, colours and branding. Some phishing emails may even refer to you by your correct name. It’s important to stay vigilant against phishing emails. You should always be suspicious if you receive an email that asks for personal details, password or banking details.
Remember that reputable companies will never ask you for your bank details or login information by sending you an email. After all, they already have your details on record and will have stringent data protection measures in place to ensure they never lose them.
Here are some of the most common phishing emails to watch out for:
Banking phishing scams
Purpose of scam:
To obtain your online banking login details to gain fraudsters access to your money
Typical phishing email content:
- Telling you to confirm your login details due to a system error
- Informing you of transactions that are actually fake, e.g. payments/money received
- Saying that your account may be compromised and you need to change your password
- Informing you of updated security measures that have been put into place (that somehow require you to enter your details in order to make your bank account comply with new regulations)
- Changes to terms and conditions that you have to accept by logging in to your account
PayPal phishing scams
Purpose of scam:
To obtain your PayPal login details to gain fraudsters access to your PayPal balance, credit card information and bank account
Typical phishing email content:
- The same as ‘banking phishing scams’, but also…
- Telling you that your account has been limited or suspended until you login or change your password (often these have a time-sensitive message to induce panic, for example “If you don’t update your details in 24 hours your account will be deleted”)
- Asking you to verify your account information
- Pretending to be the ‘PayPal Anti-Fraud Team’
eBay phishing scams
Purpose of scam:
To obtain your eBay account to make fraudulent transactions. Many eBay accounts are linked with a PayPal account or credit/debit card, allowing criminals access to your money
Typical phishing email content:
- The same as ‘banking phishing scams’ and ‘PayPal phishing scams’, but also…
- Informing you of purchases, buyer/seller feedback, confirmed listings or other changes to your account to make you panic that you have been hacked so that you login (e.g. “Thank you for buying this £1,500 television”)
- Fake questions from potential buyers
- Telling you that your recent bids have been suspended, cancelled or flagged as suspicious
HMRC phishing scams
Purpose of scam:
To obtain your banking account or credit card information and personal details
Typical phishing email content:
- Informing you of a tax rebate/refund
- Telling you to enter details to see if you are entitled to a tax rebate/refund
- Asking you to pay money to HMRC for underpaid tax
- Informing you of a (fake) tax rebate/refund that you have to ‘claim’ by entering personal details
- Thank you for submitting your tax return or other government document that you haven’t actually sent
Facebook/Twitter phishing scams
Purpose of scam:
To enable access to your social media accounts to gather more information, access saved credit card details or scrape personal information from you and your friends (e.g. email addresses or telephone numbers)
Typical phishing email content:
- Telling you to confirm your login details due to a system error
- Telling you that your account has been limited or suspended until you login or change your password (often these have a time-sensitive message to induce panic, for example “If you don’t update your details in 24 hours your account will be deleted”)
- Asking you to verify your account information
- Saying that your account may be compromised and you need to change your password
- Informing you of updated security measures that have been put into place (that somehow require you to enter your details in order to make your bank account comply with new regulations)
- Changes to terms and conditions that you have to accept by logging in to your account
- Confirmation of app purchases or other payments
- Telling you that your account has been deleted or suspended due to somebody reporting you
- Telling you that inappropriate content has been uploaded on to your account
- Telling you that you have received a new comment or update on your account that requires your attention
Staying educated is an important step towards phishing protection but scammers’ tactics evolve over time. Stay vigilant and visit this space often for reliable and up-to-date information.
