I run two blogs with the same aim - to try and help prevent people from falling victim to the scammers and phishers. Spam and Phishing came first, and then I added Keep Safe on the Net.

Like many people, my inbox seems to contain a deluge of spam and scam emails. Once you have worked through all the adverts for fake watches or life enhancing pills and potions, you are left with the phishing and scam emails that make their way onto my blogs.

If you believe these emails, there are daily email draws taking place worldwide, all of which you (or I) have magically won. There are also a selection of bereaved and/or dying widows needing help, daily problems with your account at almost any bank you can name, Paypal/Ebay/ANOther online financial site difficulties and every Government worldwide seems to be concerned to pay you compensation for being a scam victim.

If any of this was true I'd be a multi-millionnaire. Sadly, I'm not. I'm just sitting in front of a regular PC writing this.

This hub is part of my own little attempt to help inform potential victims.

Once you've seen a scam, it all seems so obvious. But everyday someone, somewhere receives their first scam email. Scammers only need to find one victim for each scam they try for it to be profitable. Believe me, they still find victims. I know that for certain, as one victim was brave enough to leave their story as a comment on one of my blogs.  I turned it into a post as I hope the story will help other potential victims. 

Each section of this hub will tell you how to spot the assorted types of phishers and scammers and, hopefully, give you the knowledge you need to stay safe.

Somedays it seems as every bank in the land has difficulty with your account.

NEVER click on a link in a bank email, even if it appears to come from your own bank.  ALWAYS enter the address of your bank's website directly into your browser.  If there really is a problem with your account you will find out when you log in.

No bank will EVER ask you to log and reconfirm your details.  If you are in any doubt, phone your bank.  (Don't use a number taken from an email, make sure you know the real phone number of your bank and use that.)

Anatomy of a bank phishing email

How can you tell if an email from "your" bank is a fake?

Point your mouse at any of the links in the email and DON'T click.  You will see the web address that the link takes you to displayed at the bottom left of your computer screen.  Study it carefully.  Chances are that it isn't the address of your bank website.  Be careful here, some of the scammers and phishers are very clever at registering domain names that can look similar at first glance.

If you want to know how the scammers fake these links, head over to one of my blogs (spam and phishing or keep safe on the net) and join the mailing list.  As a mailing list member you can download a FREE handout which tells you how these false links are added to the emails.

Fake bank websites

If you do make the mistake of clicking on one of the links in a bank email you might be taken to the scammer's fake bank website.

Most webhosts take these sites down as soon as they are reported.  Up to date web browsers also warn if you are visiting a known phishing site.  BUT - when these sites are first put up and the emails sent out they are not know phishing sites. 

If you are unfortunate enough to to be one of the first to click on a link - before the scam has been reported - your browser may quite happily take you to the false site.  Here you will be asked to enter your bank login details.  Some go further and ask you to reconfirm your username, password and other details.

If you think you (or a friend or relative) have been unfortunate enough to fall for one of these scams, telephone your bank IMMEDIATELY.  Better safe than sorry.   

Sadly people still fall victim to the scammers.  On keepsafeonthenet I have a page dedicated to the stories submitted by scam victims.  I haven't written any of them myself, or looked them up on the internet.  They are all stories that have been submitted through the blog.

Fortunately, I have been able to stop a few people from falling victim to the scammers, and others have realised what they've done before it was too late.

Once you've seen a few scam emails, the scams seem obvious.  But I guess if you live in a poor country, don't speak English very well and have never received one of these emails before, then there is a temptation to want to believe that it is true.

Sadly, the people who are most likely to fall victim to the scammers are the people who can least afford to.  Please don't be one of them. Keep safe.