How to Detect a Phishing E-mail

A common tactic for WOW hackers, or hackers in general, is to trick you into thinking they are a legitimate company that you already have a relationship with. Once they have you fooled, they will collect sensitive information, often without the victim realizing it. Here are some guidelines to help keep yourself safe from Phishers:

1. It is very uncommon for any company to contact clients by e-mail, asking for sensitive information. If you receive a suspicious e-mail, you should go directly to the company website by typing the domain into your browser to see if what the e-mail is telling you is true. Or contact the company directly, asking about the e-mail.
2. Look at the reply-to and sending address, often they will be a domain close to the real company domain, but not exactly the same. Phishers will do this to trick someone skimming over the e-mail, but not looking that closely at it.
3. Look at the address in any of the e-mail links. Again, often the address will be close to, but not exactly the same as the true company address. You should AVOID clicking on links in any e-mail you think is suspicious.
4. Look at the e-mail grammar and format. Often the phisher is doing a "knock off" and just by proofreading the e-mail you will be able to tell it is likely a fake.
5. Advanced - look at the message source and e-mail headers. Often you can see the IP address used by the sender. Phishers will often send e-mails from foreign IP addresses.
6. Use common sense, if you aren't sure if an e-mail is real, contact the company directly.
7. If you ever think you may have accidentally clicked on a phisher link, immediately contact the company to secure your accounts, and check for viruses and keyloggers as a precaution.

Stay Safe!


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