Earlier in the week I got YET ANOTHER spoof email from what is puporting to be the Royal Bank of Scotland. So far, I have had them from Barclays Bank, Nat West, Chase Manhattan, MBNA and the Abbey National. Now a bit of a clue would be that I don't actually have any accounts with these people (I wish I did, then I wouldn't be living hand to mouth from one pay cheque to the next!)
Another clue is that the English is very bad. I am sure that the Royal Bank of Scotland could at least afford a proper translator, and not Babelfish. "If you are not client of the Royal Bank of Scotland", indeed. And since when did Scots spell "authorisation" with a "z"?!
My tips for spotting spoof emails would be -
1. "Real" banks don't email people and ask for their passwords and names etc.
2. "Real" banking sites usually begin with "https" (showing it is a secure server)
3. "Real" banking sites have a closed padlock icon, showing that it is a secure server.
4. If the wording, English, punctuation just don't "sit right", it is probably fake. Mind you, I have seen "real" banks send out terrible emails that actually DO look fake! Bank of Scotland, please take note!
5. If it asks you to click a link in the email, don't. Cut and paste the link in the URL bar, if you must.
6. If you hover over the link, check that the address that comes up at the bottom is actually the same as the link in the email.
7. Do not open any attachments, they might be carrying a virus.
8. IF IN DOUBT, JUST DELETE IT!
Ebay has an excellent tutorial on spotting fake emails. It's about emails from Ebay, obviously, but the same holds true for banks, credit cards, gas and electricity companies and anything else that costs you money!
My tips for spotting spoof emails would be -
1. "Real" banks don't email people and ask for their passwords and names etc.
2. "Real" banking sites usually begin with "https" (showing it is a secure server)
3. "Real" banking sites have a closed padlock icon, showing that it is a secure server.
4. If the wording, English, punctuation just don't "sit right", it is probably fake. Mind you, I have seen "real" banks send out terrible emails that actually DO look fake! Bank of Scotland, please take note!
5. If it asks you to click a link in the email, don't. Cut and paste the link in the URL bar, if you must.
6. If you hover over the link, check that the address that comes up at the bottom is actually the same as the link in the email.
7. Do not open any attachments, they might be carrying a virus.
8. IF IN DOUBT, JUST DELETE IT!
Ebay has an excellent tutorial on spotting fake emails. It's about emails from Ebay, obviously, but the same holds true for banks, credit cards, gas and electricity companies and anything else that costs you money!
3 comments:
Chrissie ... isn't it illegal to copy money? Or is that just if it is Bank of England tender, which the Clydesdale note isn't.
It is not illegal to copy Scottish money!
Can you copy 3 fivers and 5 tenners for me then, it'll save me running to the bank ;-)
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