You've probably heard the old proverb, "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." This certainly applies to any e-mails that you receive. Most scams offering you money are pretty obviously scams. But I often receive emails that claim to have important medical or historical or educational information but aren't true. What tends to tip me off is
the request to "pass it on"
urgent language
Before sending out any letter that might not be true, I google a phrase from the email along with the the word "hoax" for example: tommy hilfiger hoax (Tommy Hilfiger was the target of a hoax claiming that he went on the television show Oprah and made racist comments - it wasn't true, but the rumour circulated around the Internet for years).
Hoaxes are irritating. Phishing can be dangerous. Phishing refers to the practice of sending e-mails that disguise themselves as legitimate companies and request sensitive information such as passwords, bank accounts and other information that you shouldn't give out. They can be as obvious as this one, currently making the rounds:
am in hurry writing this mail to you, I am sorry for not informing you about my trip. I am in some terrible situation and I really need your urgent help urgently.I had traveled to England yesterday for an urgent seminar in London, Unfortunately for me all my money, diaries and my return ticket was stolen …
Or they can appear exactly like a request from ebay or Amazon or your bank. Except that most reputable companies will not request sensitive information through an email. They will ask you to log in to your account with your username and password and do whatever you need to do in their secure site.
Another way to ensure that you are protected is to check the site address. When you go onto Maplewood, you use the address https - the 's' stands for secure. Also, look at the bottom right-hand side of the screen and you will see the image of a lock. If you hover or pass over the lock with your mouse, you'll see an authentication message. Those are fairly reliable indications that the website is secure or safe.