How to Spot & Scam Emails & Texts & Protect Yourself Online

I want to help you spot scam emails and texts! There’s a lot of bad stuff going on out there in the world wide web, and you can’t be too careful, my friends!

How to Spot Scam Emails & Scam Texts

Scams are on the rise! I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been a target yet! Do you? Here’s how to spot the red flags, so you don’t fall for a scam email or a scam text.

Scammers are getting more sophisticated, and you should know that recreating a company’s branding, logos, or letterhead is easy. Don’t be fooled just because an email or text looks legitimate. Listen to your gut and look for these red flags:

How to Spot Scam Emails

• The email suggests a relationship that doesn’t exist.
• The email is trying to tug at your heart strings (think a foreign orphanage, etc.), think twice.
• Beware of emojis in the subject line or body of the email. (Legit companies don’t do this, but scammers know it will get your attention.)
• The sender uses ALL CAPS. (Again, scammers know it will get your attention.)
• Check out who the email was sent from. If it’s a financial institution (even a real one) that you don’t use, it’s probably not legit.
• Check out who the email was sent to. If it was sent to multiple email addresses, that’s a red flag.
• The email asks you to “confirm” an account number or some type of personal information by clicking on a link.
• The email has spelling mistakes or bad grammar. Legitimate emails from reputable companies are checked and double-checked before they are sent.
• The email was sent at an odd time of day or night. A weird time may suggest the email originated in a foreign country.

How to Spot Scam Texts

• Beware of a request for you to text your phone number or other personal information.
• Look for language in the text that is unnecessarily urgent.
• You wake up to the text first thing in the morning. Scammers from other countries may send texts from their time zone, which would be while you are sleeping. (Plus, they know you may not be thinking clearly early in the morning.)
• Watch for spelling mistakes or poor grammar, suggesting that the text did not originate in an English-speaking country.
• The link the text asks you to click isn’t actually associated with the company that supposedly sent the text.
• Beware of texts that were sent to multiple phone numbers.

What to Do if You Suspect You Received a Scam Email or Scam Text

If you’re unsure about an email or text, DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS!

• Google it. Try something like: “AT&T text scam.” (I did this today, because I’ve been getting those!)
• Read carefully (especially emails), because grammar and spelling mistakes are the most common giveaway.
• If you get an email or text from an unfamiliar company (no matter what it says or how urgent it sounds), look up the company online and send customer service a note to confirm. If the email is a scam, they are often aware of it’s existence and may already be taking action.
• If you get “security alert” email or text from a credit card company or bank, contact them by phone to confirm that it was really from them.
• Report it to the company. Be kind to others and save someone else from getting scammed.

I hope you found these tips helpful! Be careful out there, my friends!