Beware of the Email!
Emails have lots of benefits over post, including:
they are instantaneous;
they are free (no printer, ink, paper or stamps required);
they can be sent and received to multiple recipients at the same time.
However, as email is more and more largely depended on in society, it is a common target for cybercriminal activity. If someone gains unauthorised access to your email account, they then have access to your private communications. A cybercriminal could steal your sensitive information, or even commit fraud and send emails pretending to be you, or send you emails pretending to be someone else.
HOW TO TELL IF AN EMAIL ADDRESS IS FAKE?
Scammers can quickly set up an email address and put a name to it that looks almost the exact same as the person who you usually deal with. This is called “email spoofing”.
For example, my email address is mdi-filippo@swc.net.au – however, when you receive an email from me, it comes up as “Misty Di-Filippo”. If you hover your mouse over the name, it will show the actual email address behind the name mdi-filippo@swc.net.au.
It is important to get into the practice of checking the email address you are receiving and sending emails to, to ensure you are dealing with the correct person.
If you hover over the name and the email address shows up as “Misty Di-Filippo imdodgy@lolkky.com” but the name is still “Misty Di-Filippo” – then you know for sure it’s a scammer and you should not correspond with that person and seek urgent IT advice to protect your information.
Scammers are getting even more sophisticated than this, setting up domain names that are extremely similar from the legitimate one they are trying to impersonate. This could be them adding on the “.au” to the end of the email or taking the “.au” off. It can be that subtle!
To ensure you know the legitimate email address, save your usual contacts email addresses in your contacts list in your emails (or write them in a notebook) and whenever corresponding with them, get into the habit of hovering your mouse or finger over the name to check the actual email address that is behind it.
WHAT IF YOU NEED TO TRANSFER LARGE SUMS OF MONEY?
Lawyers, suppliers, financial advisors, financial institutions, and real estate agents, just to name a few, receive and pay out large sums of money all the time to their customers. Often they make arrangements for this by email due to it being the quickest way to action.
Whenever dealing with the transfer of sums of money, never act just on an email request for money! No matter how urgent the message appears.
Always call or physically go and see your lawyer, supplier, financial advisor, financial institution, real estate agent, or whoever, to verify their bank account details if you are transferring funds to them.
Scammers trick you into transferring money to them by making the request super urgent, so you don’t have time to check with anyone.
An email from a scammer pretending to be your lawyer might look something like this:
“Hi David,
We’re all ready for settlement, however I urgently need you to transfer an amount of $15,000 into our trust account so we can settle this for you. I’m working remotely, and my phone isn’t working properly, so I can’t call you. Can you please attend to the transfer into the below bank account details by no later than 2pm today, so that we can settle your purchase for you?”
Another example from a scammer pretending to be a Supplier, might be:
“Hi,
Regarding the invoice we have sent you recently, please note we have new bank account details. Please ensure you make payment to our new bank account. If you transfer funds into our old bank account, we will not receive payment and will not be able to supply your goods to you until payment is received. This may delay delivery to you.”
Warning: Don’t just call the phone number on the bottom of the email either – that could be the scammers contact number and they can sound very professional too and confirm to you the bogus bank account they’ve just set up for you to transfer funds into.
Look up the person’s phone number that you are about to pay from a known source such as their website, previous correspondence, or call them back using the number that they called you on last to verify their bank account details.
Best practice is be organised and transfer a small amount first to check that your intending recipient receives that amount before transferring over a larger amount.
WHAT IF YOU ARE BEING PAID A LARGE SUM OF MONEY?
Likewise, if you are receiving funds into your nominated bank account, don’t send the bank account details by email and assume that it won’t be intercepted and changed.
Send the details by email if you must, or better yet, go in and see the person who needs to pay you to provide your account details personally. If you can’t see the person physically, then ALWAYS call on a known, verified number to confirm your bank account details by phone.
If any payment is requested by email or text urgently and it is not expected – be suspicious and investigate further.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specific advice should be sought about your particular circumstances. Please contact us for more information.