In plain English
How to spot a fake email
The Simple Answer
A fake email says there is a problem and asks you to click something to fix it. Before you click, ask one question: do I actually have an account with this company, or know this person?
Scammers send messages that look like they come from a bank, a delivery company or a store. They are called phishing messages. They work because they are hard to tell apart at a glance, so it helps to know the pattern.
The signs
The Federal Trade Commission says phishing emails and texts often tell a story along these lines:
- They say they have noticed suspicious activity or log-in attempts on your account. They have not.
- They say there is a problem with your account or your payment information. There is not.
- They say you need to confirm personal or financial information. You do not.
- They use a generic greeting, and urge you to click a link to update your payment details.
The FTC also notes that real companies do not contact you by email or text to ask you to update payment details through a link.
The one question to ask
The FTC suggests asking yourself: do I have an account with the company, or do I know the person who contacted me? If the answer is no, it is probably a scam. Report the message and delete it.
If the answer is yes, do not use anything in the message. Contact the company using a phone number or website that you already know is real, such as the one on your card or your last statement, and ask whether there is really a problem.
If you already clicked
- If you gave away sensitive information, such as a password, a card number or your Social Security number, go to the FTC's identity theft site for the steps to take.
- If you worry that a link or file put something harmful on your computer, update your security software, run a scan and remove anything it finds.
- If you used the same password anywhere else, change it there too.