Your Financial Security

Safety and Fraud Tips for Your Daily Life 


Email Scams for Online Accounts!

Scammers just love email. Why? Most scammers just need us to click on things. When we’re scrolling through email, we tend to move quickly, looking out for bills and alerts. This is why scammers love to use a “sense of urgency” as their weapon of choice. Be aware of the following for email-based scams:

  • Informing you a password, login, or account has been compromised
  • Informing you of an immediate change of service that requires your “immediate action”
  • Urging you to click on a link (most often in order to “fix the problem”)
  • Threatening that your service will be shut off, disconnected, or disabled if you do not comply

Some tips - know how your company operates. Usually scammers avoid adding too much information so they don’t give themselves away. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t pros. Knowing how the company in question operates will help here.

  • How do they communicate with you? Do they use your name or title? Do any urgent updates come through a portal or app? This is important if you are able to verify an urgent notice with an app.
  • Do they have a clear and noticeable icon or images? This could include their email avatar (the thumbnail image before you open the email).
  • Do they include certain information in their emails or in their email signature? Many companies end their emails with Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies, Contact information, or Unsubscribe options. Make sure you know what this looks like for your company. Look through your inbox to find past communications with benign messages.
  • How do they usually handle problems with your account? You may not always know this one, but you can always call your company. If the company supports an app, login to your app and see if there are any alerts that correspond with the email.  

When in doubt, contact the company in question, and inform them of the email. They will confirm if it is legitimate or a scam. If you know you're being scammed, report it! Report a Phishing email, or mark the email as Spam in your inbox. 

Other Resources

For Identity Theft prevention and action, visit our Identity Theft Resource page. 

For additional tips and information about the latest scams, visit our Security Tips Archive.