3 signs to distinguish between fake and real emails

 

Online hacking, scams, and scams are becoming more and more common with time. Scammers deceive the innocent public who knows nothing about technology by using different techniques! You must have wondered over and over again how to tell if a specific email address is fake or real. We will answer all your questions in this article, but first, let's admit that email has become an indispensable part of our lives, both private and professional. Regardless of the convenience that emails provide, there are some fraud methods that we should be concerned about. As more people communicate via email, hackers spend a field day deceiving them and stealing their hard-earned fortune. And if you think you're smarter than falling for an email scam, think again!

 

History has proven that even the best of us can become a victim of email struggles. In fact, this is the truth. Even the most famous companies such as Facebook, Google, Sony, and many more have become prey to email scams, so what about you? Millions of dollars are lost when there are attacks on large companies. However, what people like us may lose is; Individuals and small to medium-sized companies, when we are deceived is our money and our private information. Therefore, it is important for everyone to know the ways in which genuine emails can be identified from fake ones by 3 clear signs.

 

First, check the incoming mail address

 

You will often find fake incoming emails with the same original email addresses. Where you can check the mail address by clicking on the arrow next to the "To me" or "To me" field. Take the example of Apple! If you receive an email from Apple, you will see that the email address is noreply@apple.com. In turn, scammers may use similar email addresses such as noreply@appleinc.com to try to deceive the recipient.

Or another example is the way scammers write the names of famous companies to deceive people. For example, they could intentionally mistype Microsoft with the letters "r" and "n" to make it look like "m" and the like. So you have to check the addresses carefully. Unfortunately, scammers can use various bans or scams to show you a legitimate email address. In this case, it is difficult to know if the email is real or not.

 

Second, check the mail address you will be replying to

 

When you receive an email from someone, you usually reply to the same email address, unless instructed otherwise. And when scammers send fake emails using someone else's email addresses, they won't be able to access the email accounts of the victims using their names!

So if a fraudulent email needs a response from you, you'll see that the Reply-To field contains a different email address than the one that actually sent the email to you. Scammers use this technology to get responses by getting you to read and reply to the emails they send using the names of reputable brands, companies, government organizations, etc. So here you have to check any mail address you receive.

 

Third, check email security

 

There are three main technologies used for email security which are; SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These technologies help recipients of email messages check if they are indeed from the recipient, or a scammer instead. Most websites and companies use these three security measures correctly, and they allow your mail client to detect and block fake emails. It should be noted that some companies may not use or apply these technologies correctly. So to check the security of an email, click on the three dots in the top corner of any suspicious email and click on the “View original” option. From here, you will be able to see each of the security checks and whether the email has passed 'PASS' or 'FAILED'.

 

While status cannot definitively tell you whether an email is real or not, it certainly gives a good sign. But if you see a failure or a minor failure, you'd better be careful with this mail address! Here you may be wondering why your email doesn't automatically scan and filter spam and fake emails with so many checks, firewalls, and layers of security out there. The answer to this question is that of the 140 million domains recently checked in an SPF survey, only 80% do not have SPF records, which is the minimum security.

 

Thus without SPF records, there is no way for your email account to accurately filter spam messages. That's why you sometimes find important emails in your spam folder and individual spam emails in your inbox!

 

In the result, there is not a single test or tag that can tell you that a particular email is authentic or suspicious. Thus you may have to run all the previous tests to find out if the email is real or not. So it is always better to check suspicious emails. Because if we pay attention to these signs, we may save ourselves from the losses and embarrassment caused by any fraudulent emails.