In my post, “This One Is Real,” I showed you a Yahoo email which, although it raises questions in some people’s mind about its validity, is real. However, lately, I have been receiving emails like the one above (click on it to see a larger image). Like most of you, I’d be delighted if someone had posted $7,000 in MoneyGram in my name. The scammers behind this fake email are trying to appeal to my “dream” emotions.
As I’ve talked about numerous times on this blog, these attempts to lure us in are called Social Engineering. Generally, SE uses three methods to trick us into clicking, calling or filling in personal information.
- Fear – they attempt to scare you into making the wrong move.
- Willingness to help others – they pull at your heart strings and hope you’ll fall for it. (E.g., I lost my wallet and can’t get home, can you help?)
- Dreams – they appeal to your dreams – free money, a better car, a bigger house, etc.
If you see the email above or something similar, allow yourself to daydream for a minute and pretend that you’re going to get that free money, then wake yourself back up and send the email where it belongs – in the deleted folder!