For as long as email has existed, email scams have also existed.

But that being said, email scams have hardly remained the same, because as internet scams, in general, have become more sophisticated with each passing year so have email scams as well.

Today, email scams are more deceptive and advanced, and unfortunately also more popular, than they ever have before.

While choosing a reliable email host can certainly go a long way to help to reduce the number of scams and bogus emails to hit your inbox, in the end, it’s up to you to be on the lookout so you don’t fall prey.

To help you out, we’re going to cover the top five specific emails scams for 2018. By knowing about these scams, you won’t just be able to avoid falling for them, but you’ll be able to avoid falling for other scams similar to them as well:

1 – Amazon Order Scam

One of the more prolific email scams for 2018 is the Amazon cancellation scam, which can be easy to fall for since most if not all of us have more than likely received legitimate emails from Amazon before.

Any email claiming to be from Amazon that cites an order you didn’t place is simply not really from Amazon.  Often times, however, scammers will send an email that looks like it’s from Amazon, in an attempt to convince the victim that they either purchased or canceled an order that doesn’t even exist.

These kinds of emails supposedly from Amazon will then contain a malicious link that you would be very wise NOT to click.

2 – Bank Scam

Ask yourself this question: why would the bank send you an email asking you for information after you’ve opened an account?

After all, after you open up a bank account, they already have all of your information.

Nonetheless, many people still fall for very professional-looking emails that appear to be from their banking companies, and that claim they will need your information in order to process a transaction or that your credit or debit card is about to expire.

If you ever receive an email that looks like it’s from your bank and that asks you for your personal information, don’t fall for it.

3 – Facebook Scam

Facebook scams have been a regular nuisance for many years. These emails will often use the same colors and formatting style of Facebook, to convince victims that it is legitimate.

The email will then usually trick users into clicking a malware link that will take them to a website where they will be offered items to buy.

That being said, you can avoid such a scam by paying close attention to the domain name of the email. Anything that is not ‘facebook.com’ will be a scam each and every time.

4 – Nigerian Scam

The ‘Nigerian e-mail scam,’ also known as the ‘419’ scam, is an email supposedly from a woman from a very wealthy Nigerian family who is seeking to leave millions of dollars from her recently deceased husband to a church.

The scammer then requests the victim to pay a ‘small fee’ in order to cover the legal costs so the fortune can be released.

Simply delete this email if you receive it.

5 – PayPal Confirmation Scam

Last but not least, is the PayPal Confirmation Scam. This is a classic example of a ‘phishing’ email, where the victim is lured into providing their login information.

The most common form of the PayPal Confirmation Scam will claim that your transactions or payments could not be processed, and you’ll be led to a fake PayPal landing page where you will be requested to input your login information so you can complete the transaction yourself.

Of course, the scammer will then use that information to login into your own account to steal your funds, so be careful.

As PayPal discusses, you should avoid any email looking like it’s from PayPal and that uses impersonal greetings, conveys urgency, contains unknown attachments, or that requests to take you to a site.

Conclusion

Take note that any email that asks you for personal or financial information such as passwords, bank account or credit card numbers, or account verification information is almost certainly fraudulent because a truly legitimate email from a legitimate company would not ask you for that kind of information.

Sam Bocetta

Sam Bocetta is a former naval defense analyst and current freelance journalist, specializing in writing about technology, cybercrime, and cryptography.

The post Top 5 Email Scams For 2018: Gullible People Beware appeared first on Torque.

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