How to Catch a Scam Before It’s Too Late

Learn how to spot a scam before the damage is done.

Every day you open numerous emails, at all hours of the day. Here at Wholesale Cutting Boards, we have received a numerous amount of emails and our fair share of scams amongst them. Make sure you avoid accepting unwanted viruses, giving out valuable information or losing your hard earned money by knowing how to spot a scammer before they get the chance to affect your life.

Top 10 Red Flags

According to Mashable, the following list is of the top indications to watch out for that you are being scammed. Make sure to keep note of them for any suspicious email you receive.

1.Strange Links

This could include anything from a link that has been soloed out to look more appealing to hyperlinks connected to text and shortened links so you cannot see the website you are being lead to.

2.Email Lists

One of the top signs that an email is a scam is when it has been sent to numerous emails, especially if none of them are recognizable to you.

3.Generic Subject Lines

Vague subject lines, or non-existent ones for that matter, are a giant tell to whether the email is of business or just propaganda.

4.Enthusiasm

A lot of times, a scammer will make his email sound very enthusiastic, filling it with text written in a bigger sized font or with only capital letters.

5.Poor Grammar

Usually scammers do not care if they’re email has been proofread or not, or it comes from someone originally of a different language. Poor grammar and spelling can often be a good sign that the email is not what it says it is.

6.Irrelevant Requests

An obvious sign would be if you receive any strange requests. From helping someone cheat on their spouse to asking for medical assistance, these kinds of requests are easy to tell that they are only scams.

7.High Importance

If you receive an email of high importance from a sender that you do not recognize, could it really be that important? If the content of the email does not remind you of something of importance that you already knew, it is a scam.

8.Personal Information

As we all know, never give out personal information. Especially if that is towards an email you are even remotely unsure of.

9.Sender’s Email

Ensure that the sender’s email address matches to the company that they are speaking for. A company will not have someone contact you through an email address that does not match or relate to their company.

10.Guarantees

Nothing, especially through an email, is guaranteed. This includes emails that talk about guaranteeing you a large amount of money or anything of valuable. Always remember, you are not officially guaranteed.

Common Scams to Watch Out For

According to Money Crashers, the top common email scams used include:

• Foreign lottery winners
• Surveys with rewards
• PayPal, Credit Card or Online Banking offers
• Making money through shopping or games
• Money inheritance scams

What to Do

Now that you know what to watch out for, how do you go about dealing with an email you are unsure of? There are several ways to find out if a sender is legit or if they are trying to scam you. From the most common scams to brand new ones, there is always a way to figure out if an email is real or not. Following are a few ways to check if your sender is really who they say they are and how to deal with the email once you know.

• Don’t respond until you are positive that it is not a scam!
• Don’t click a random link until you know where it goes too. There are many websites help you figure out where a shortened or hidden link might be leading you without having to click on.
• Check the sender’s email  to see if it matches the company who is sending it and those the email was sent to. This could be a good indication.
• If the email has anything to do with medical or financial information, call your bank, insurance provider, doctor or medical institution before continuing with the email. They will be able to tell you if the email is legit or not.
• Google is a practical search engine that can answer many questions you may have. Try using it to search the name of the sender, the company or the content in the email. There may be a warning from someone who has previously fallen victim to the same sender trying to reach you.
• If there is a telephone number in the content of the email, try calling it. You cannot be harmed through a telephone call and if the number is out of service, it is a good indicator that you should delete the email immediately. Scammers will put a phone number to make their content seem more realistic to try and persuade you.
• If they leave a picture of themselves in the email, sometimes to make the email seem more real, you can do a reverse image search of the picture to see if it has been used elsewhere. Many times, scammers will take a random photo from social media.
• If the person contacting you does not wish to meet in person, it is most likely a scam.

Knowing how to spot a scammer before it’s too late can be one of the most important things when it comes to corresponding by email on a daily basis. We know what it can mean to be scammed and what mess it can create. One thing to be sure of, Wholesale Cutting Boards will never send you a threatening email.