Hi guys, I would like to share a recent email scam or phishing sent to me by a so-called Google Android, but in fact, the email was sent by a dubious email eastercashspash@android.com.
This email was supposed to be a surprise Easter prize for me. It caught me by surprise, but of course, the scam was simply too obvious.
You can see the email scam from “Google Android” below.
The email I received – What a scam or rather phishing to be exact
If the wordings are a bit too small for you, essentially it says that I “won” GBP 500,00.00 for their “Android Easter Cash Splash Promo”. How convincing….
Of course, there is a caveat here.
In order for me to collect my “winning prize”, I need to contact them on this particular Skype number.
Right… are they not supposed to know my contact details if I enrolled in their contest promo?
What more, I am also expected to provide my
- Full Name
- Residential Address
- Mobile Number
- Email Address
- Ticket Number
How convenient for them to expect me to provide all this private information to them.
Well, of course, it would be a No Way Jose!
Sadly enough, there will probably be a few naive and gullible individuals that may succumb to such a ploy.
I would not be too surprised if that happens because there are a few elements in that email that may make people thought that the email is legitimate.
So what are the elements:
- Using the Google Android header and symbol
- Google Android is a big apps center from Google
- Bring a sense of fake “credibility”
- Boldly using/faking a real prominent figure in Google itself
- They have the audacity to use the name of Patrick Pichette, a real-life Google CFO who is about to retire.
I wonder how the real Patrick Pichette feels about his name been used for scam purposes
How Scammer Get Your & My Email
Basically, there are fours ways how the spam/scam senders get our email:
- By illegally buying the list of emails from real people like you and me
- Tech-savvy & programming experts use and utilize “harvesting” programs that rummage through the Internet, and copy any text that contains the character “@”.
- Use complicated and strong programs like hackers
- When you unintentionally sign-up or, subscribe your email address to dishonest online services
There are other similar lottery scams before this that such as
- Google Award 2014 Promotion
- Google 2015 Anniversary Award
Probably a similar promotion strikes will again.
Therefore, be on alert always.
Steps To Avoid Email Scam
So what can you do to avoid this type of email scam?
There is a number of ways that you can do to avoid or hide from spammers.
- Your private email address can be disguised using obfuscation.
- Utilize a disposable email address
- Email address encoding tool can be used when publishing your email address on your site or blog
- If you see a newsletter that you are not familiar with, simply delete the email. Do not confirm an “unsubscribe” request from that particular newsletter.
Signs of Email Scam
There are a number of ways to identify if an email is a scam/phishing.
Use Your Common Sense
The easiest way would be to simply use your common sense.
What I mean by that is that if you think it is too good to be true, it probably is.
For example, if an email comes to you and said you just won a million dollars or whatever the huge sum number is, instead of being excited and been taken over by greed, just stop and think for a few seconds.
Isn’t it fishy that you have been emailed that you won something that you never apply or know of?
Scam alert my friend!
Asking For Your Full Details
Another typical sign of a scam or phishing in email is to ask for your full details.
Typically they will ask for your
– Full Name
– ID number
– Phone numbers
– Address
– Bank Account Number!
– Credit card details!
Never ever give your sensitive details to anyone through email or the internet in general.
They can easily use your general details and use it for their gain but can cause a huge problem for you as it is under your name.
Giving away your bank account details and credit card information is an absolute no-no, as it can lead you to major financial repercussions!
Asking For Money
If an email comes to you and asks for money, be very careful.
Sometimes it doesn’t look too obvious.
It starts with a prince with a huge inheritance is having trouble in another country. He needs you to help him to give $10,000.00 so that he can escape and return you the favor by giving you 1 million as a sign of thanks.
Another example a friend of yours who has lost a suitcase full of cash and needs your help to transfer cash. “Favour” will be returned in exchange.
There are so many variations and other creative ways out there.
Just remember, never believe and gives out your money just like that on the internet for something that is too good to be true.
Requesting You To Open An Attachment Or Link
If the email is just a line that as you to open an attachment, do not open it especially if it ends with .pif or .scr
The same also goes to a link.
What I have written here so far, is based on my own personal experience.
If you want to read further on this subject, you can read more ways and tips on email scams/phishing on wikiHow here.
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It is not easy to find an honest online marketing training program that truly wants to help you earn income online and not just to make your own pockets full.
Fortunately, there are a handful of programs that are truly legitimate.
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A good online or affiliate marketing training should be able to provide complete comprehensive training modules and offer top-notch online marketing tools as well.
That is all from me, and I hope my post here can be beneficial to you.
If you have questions, opinions, or feedback, just drop me a comment below.
Thank you.
Dlansing
