Scams are rife all over the place with fraudsters getting even cleverer by the day – but would you be able to tell a scam email, call or text apart from a genuine one?

I am sure you have probably had phishing emails and messages from fake couriers asking for payment to deliver a parcel you haven’t ordered. Or maybe you have been a recipient of an iffy looking text, claiming to be from your son/daughter who has allegedly lost their phone. The question is though, would you know how to spot if an email, text or phone call was fake?

It is good to be alert to the tell tale signs an email, text or even phone call are not genuine, and each method has it’s own set of points we need to be on the look out for.

Phishing – email scams

Scam emails, or phishing, are getting very good at blending in, some are so good it takes a few read throughs to pick up on those slights that reveal it isn’t quite what it seems.

• The email address – the email address the message comes from is often the first thing to reveal whether an email is genuine. Make sure to properly look at the from address, does it look like the email address that company would use? For example, a message from Microsoft would use domain “@microsoft.com” as the end of their email but a spam one may read “[email protected]” or even use a spelling mistake such as “@micorsoft.com” to throw you off.
• Grammar – how is the spelling and grammar? If it is full of mistakes it is likely to be spam. Odd spelling mistakes happen to even the best companies, but for simple words to be constantly spelt wrong and incorrect grammar and broken sentences throughout, there is a cause for concern.
• Are the links correct? – Don’t click them! However, if you are on a computer hover over and it will come up in the corner or as a tooltip to show you the destination (on a mobile device you can press and hold and it will come up without going to the website). Does it look like the recipient’s website? Or is it random words, letters and numbers or some other name that doesn’t match where the email is apparently from?
• Sense of urgency – does the text make everything sound urgent “must pay now”, “you have 12 hours to complete”? Genuine companies wouldn’t pressure you into panicking that you need to pay something right that second.

If you are still unsure, it never hurts to enquire, just don’t use anything off the email in case they have used scam details. Find the companies website and use their contact forms or phone number and ask if they have sent it, if they have they will be able to tell you.

Vishing – scam phone calls

These have ramped up a lot recently so always been on your guard even when answering the phone. As a car dealer, no doubt you have enquires from customers and businesses coming through quite frequently so always make sure you have established they are a genuine.

• Robotic voices – if you hear a robot on the end it’s a safe bet it’s a scam. A obvious attempt at vishing, if you hear a voice claiming to be the HMRC, you have won a prize or maybe you have suspicious activity on your bank account and it is blatantly computerised, put the phone down. For anything like this, a real life, living and breathing person will call you, not a computer. Never press whatever button it says to speak to someone, this usually results in a fee made to your phone or some trying to get your bank details.
• Don’t give out personal details – they rang you and they shouldn’t ask for any bank details to confirm who you are, be careful what details you give out.
• Google it – If you are unsure if they are who they say they are, Google the phone number and it will generally give you an answer as to whether this is a genuine call or not.
• Sense of urgency – they tend to be pushy and demanding, don’t let them pressure you. A genuine call wouldn’t pressure you into paying anything right that second over the phone.

Smishing – text or messaging scams

More and more people are taking to using things like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp which have lots of security but still don’t fully prevent scams – the most popular at the moment being “mum I’ve lost my phone” going around like wildfire on WhatsApp.

SMS is becoming slightly less popular for everyday chat but highly popular for companies sending links to things like tickets and restaurant bookings which has seen this platform become a minefield for more scams. With the likes of sending links to fake covid tests in the last few years, paying to get your parcel from a courier or saying your Apple account has been locked it’s hard to know what messages to trust.

• Similar to phishing and vishing look out for sense of urgency and grammar in such a small message these are often pretty prevalent.
• The web address – does it look genuine? A random string of letters and numbers, company name you don’t recognise, bizarre website address with the really company tagged on the end all indicators this address isn’t going where you would expect.
• Are you expecting a delivery from that company or courier? – If you don’t remember ordering from them or aren’t expecting a package likelihood says it’s a scam, but if you think you might have ordered, check your emails – order confirmations or delivery notices may indicate if this is a genuine delivery.

Scammers are getting very clever and devious, don’t let them catch you out!

Our Clickers are always on hand to assist our dealers, whether with phishing or another query – drop them an email today