Take a look at this screenshot of an email I received yesterday:

I’ve underlined and circled some things so I can point them out to you. The first thing of interest is the “From:” name and email address. Notice, it reads that it’s from “[email protected]” but the real email address is showing and that address has nothing to do with Amazon.

There are two circles showing boxes with red Xs. Those Xs are there because my Outlook blocks images from unknown senders. This prevents a scammer from knowing that my email address is legitimate. If I allowed the photos, that would report back to their server and they’d know my email address was valid. I’d then receive even more junk from them!

The last circle above indicates the one fake link in the email. It reads “order invoice.” However, if I were to click on it (because I panicked and thought someone charged $187.30 to my Amazon account), I’d be taken to a fake page. On that page, wording would try to trick me into revealing personal information – bank info, PIN, Social Security, etc. (This type of activity is called “Phishing.”) Interestingly, all the other links in the email are real Amazon links.

On my computer, when I tried to go to this website, I received this warning:

Unfortunately, when new phishing sites appear, it takes some time before browsers show warnings like the one above. So, if you happen to be one of the unlucky people who click and arrive to the webpage early on, you might be scammed.

As I always preach at our live seminars, the key to not being fooled is to never panic! Calmly look at a questionable email, ask questions (people often log into Remote Technical Support and ask us about an email like the Amazon one we received.), and play it safe. Don’t let crooks take your money!