How to spot a scam email

The telltale signs to look for that show an email probably isn’t legit.

This week I spotted news of a TV Licence email scam that has been doing the rounds, conning at least £233,455 out of 200 people – and that’s just the ones reported to Action Fraud.

Emails were claiming a direct debit had failed, and asking people to click through and enter in new details. This is known as “Phishing”. Once the crook has your bank, contact and other personal details they could use them to pose as someone from your bank, or maybe the police, saying you’ve been a victim of fraud. And then they try to con you out of some huge amounts of cash. Scary stuff.

The original email was familiar as I’d too received it, and used it on Twitter to show my followers how to spot a scam. So it makes sense to share those same photos and pointers to help you avoid getting caught out by this or similar dodgy emails.

The email

The smarter the hacker, the better the email. In this instance, the email has the look and feel of a real TV Licencing email. Here’s the first tweet I sent.

Here’s a good example of a scam email that could be legit at first glance. There’s the logo, and if you just scan the subject and text it sounds plausible. So what gives it away? I’ll share a few tell-tale signs in this thread pic.twitter.com/xtaKXdTokh

— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) December 14, 2018

Tip one: Dodgy grammar

Often the biggest giveaway is that there are spelling or grammatical mistakes.

First a few phrases that don’t read right. In the subject it says “TV Licensing” not “ TV Licence”. Then there are a couple of sentences where the wording is off. We’ve all made mistakes in emails, but it’s a sign to watch out. pic.twitter.com/hZXnT83TO0

— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) December 14, 2018

Tip two: Discover who really sent the email

Just because an email says it’s from “TV Licencing” it doesn’t mean it is. Likewise any word in the “from” field could be masking a dodgy address. In fact anyone can change who an email appears from. I could send one that says it was from the Queen if I wanted. But you can’t hide the real email.

A good way to tell is to click the “From” name so you can see the email it was sent from. Normally it’s obviously spammy, but in this case it could – at a stretch – be legit (it’s not). If you’re not sure, then google the actual company rather than click any links. pic.twitter.com/KmRKkURbvZ

— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) December 14, 2018

Here are those photos in full. First

Here’s the real address hidden behind it. It’s closer than most scam emails to the real thing, but it should set alarm bells ringing. This is a major UK institution so you’d expect a “.co.uk” suffix. It’s best to Google the organisation to find the real web domain.

What happens when you click through?

So, first, don’t click through if you have concerns about the legitimacy of the email. I did it here just to show you why you need to be extra careful at the email stage. First the fake TV Licencing site:

Here’s the page you get if you did click through. pic.twitter.com/2XwIcfi6rE

— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) December 14, 2018

And then the real thing. Really similar!

And here’s the official @tvlicensing website. Very similar. So just be wary of any email asking you to enter financial details, or log in info.

— Andy Webb CleverCash (@AndyCleverCash) December 14, 2018

Worried you’ve been scammed?

If you’ve fallen for this particular scam, or you’re worried you might have given your details after receiving similar emails, then you can report it to ActionFraud online or on the phone. They’ll also be able to give you some simple advice on what to do next. But if you’ve shared any passwords change them ASAP, and if you’ve given your bank details out call your bank immediately.

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