The number of dangerous emails is increasing every day, so we must take certain precautions. According to data provided by the security software company Kaspersky, in 2016 there was an increase in emails with malicious content. To mention an example, during the month of March of that year, the antivirus managed to detect more than 22 million of this type of emails, which marks a gap with previous figures that did not exceed three and six million per month.
The reasons why this occurs can be several and range from little protection against phishing – fake sites that steal data – by email users, to persuasive social engineering techniques, which are widely used by cyber attackers to convince people to open the attachments.
In order to avoid falling for these online scams , we give you some signs that you should be alert to.
1. Who is issuing the message?
The first sign to be alert to is the sender of the message: receiving an email from an unknown sender generates mistrust.
The other factor to watch out for is if you receive an email from a known person. By this we mean the fact that many times, by means of a virus, it is possible that this threat will forward itself to all the contacts that the victim has. If this happens, it is essential to pay attention to other details, such as if such an email was really expected, if the subject it shows makes sense , or if the text is correct.
There are cases in which the cyber attacker may even use the name of a well-known company, including a bank, in order to make his victim believe that he is receiving an official communication. In these cases, it is advisable to observe the sender’s links in detail, as well as remember that many companies (Apple, Dropbox, PayPal) never ask for passwords by mail.
2. What does dangerous mail look like?
Although the way they act improves over time, the truth is that there is still something that betrays cybercriminals: their wording is very basic, and in addition to understanding very little, they use impersonal terms such as “Dear Sir” or ” Dear user”.
3. A suspicious matter
In addition to the aforementioned, a detail that can help us to realize if we are facing a possible case of phishing , even without opening the message, is the matter, since they usually use an urgent tone , demanding some type of action (such as providing data personal data, or some password), and set a deadline in addition. Many times they write them in capital letters.
4. Attachments, what extensions do they have?
Many of the dangerous emails contain attachments that are also dangerous. It is convenient not to open or execute these files. Many files, especially executables, are dangerous. These have extensions such as .exe, .com, or .bat. Cybercriminals sometimes even try to mask these extensions and pass them off as harmless, such as .doc or .exe.
5. Have they asked you for some of your personal or bank information?
It is essential to know and remember that neither large technology companies nor banks request any type of data through email. If you see any email with this feature, it is undoubtedly a case of phishing . Those who wish to commit some type of online scam, generally request some type of information such as: personal data, username and password of an online service, card or account number, among others.
6. Links that redirect to strange sites
You must be attentive to this detail, since another method – in addition to the attached files – that is frequently used by cybercriminals, is the use of masked links in the email , that is, links that do not allow to see, immediately, towards where they lead. One way to know the destination of these links, without having to click, is to place the cursor over it and look at the bottom bar of the browser, which will show the original web address.
If a shortened link is shown -such as Bitly or TinyURL- it is possible to make use of the Unshorten.It service, in which you only have to copy and paste the address in the search field, and this will allow you to visualize the destination of said links, as well without the need to ‘click’ them.
7. They make you the winner of an imaginary contest
A dangerous email will almost always fulfill the characteristic of sounding unreal. For example, they inform the user that he has been selected as the winner of some type of contest, as an intermediary between millionaire bank accounts, heir to a great fortune, and even to be the husband of some attractive young woman. Suspicious, right?
