Your spam filter will hopefully pick up the majority of erroneous fake emails doing the rounds but, should one slip through the net, here are 5 key clues to look out for, based on the above message, to help ensure you click DELETE!
1. SENDING ‘FROM’ ADDRESS
Firstly, check out the sending email address for any incoming emails.
If you recognise the ‘From’ address, then great!
If not, and if it bears no resemblance to the normal expected email address, be cautious!
2. TIME OF MESSAGE
If, like this voicemail message above, you regularly receive an automated email at a given point, the timing of the message may ring alarm bells.
In this case, the message was sent in the morning for a voicemail purportedly left the day before.
The genuine voicemail emails usually arrive within minutes of the voicemail being left so, again, this change in timing is cause for concern.
3. RECEIVING ‘TO’ ADDRESS
Like the sending address, if the receiving email address is different to the one used by legitimate voicemails, in the case of this user, this is another flag that something is not quite right.
4. LINK DESTINATION
Rogue emails will often contain links.
Whatever you do, DO NOT CLICK on any links until you are 100% sure that the email is genuine. Otherwise, they could help wreak all sorts of havoc.
Instead, however, you can HOVER over the link WITHOUT clicking in order to see the link destination.
In this case, amercianextmodels.com is definitely not the domain the voicemail messages normally come from!
5. TYPOS
Finally, in case you need any further proof that this is not a genuine email, a typo in the ‘standard’ text is also a great indicator that all is not well.
So, if you spot any or all of these signs, please do be cautious.
If you’re still not sure whether a message is genuine, our advice would be to call the company to double-check or log in to your account separately online where hopefully you will be reassured.
If you do decide to delete, it is good practice to delete the message from your deleted items as well as from your inbox. Also alert any colleagues who may have received a similar message.
If you have any queries or concerns about any of the above or any links you may have inadvertently clicked on, do give us a call on 0118 9767111.