Broker Check

Five Warnings You've Received A Malicious Email

August 05, 2022

Data-Guard 365 lists the five flags that an email is not legitimate:

  1. Is the body of the email addressed to you? Just like a letter addressed to "Dear Friend" or a robocall that doesn't mention your name, a non-personalized email is a sign of a  campaign to target vulnerable users.
  2. Were you expecting the email? Normally advertisers and organizations send their emails on regular day and time schedules. An unexpected email from an unfamiliar source is a danger signal.
  3. Are there obvious spelling or grammatical errors? The sender may be a fraudster whose native language is not English.
  4. Was it sent or received at an irregular time? It may be from a foreign time zone.
  5. Is there a sense of urgency? Don't send money or provide information without checking. 

An email with one or more of these warning signs should be reported as a potential attack on your system.