1.    The email comes from a public email domain

A public domain email address is one that is provided by a free email service, such as Gmail, Yahoo and Outlook. Most legitimate businesses have their own domains to match their business names. An email from a popular pizza chain, Tasty Pizza, would use the email address customerservice@tastypizza.com. If you were to receive an email from tasty.pizza@gmail.com, you should be cautious. A quick way to verify a business email is by looking for it on their company’s website. If the domain name after the @ symbol matches the name of the sender or the name on the website, it is probably safe.

2.    The domain name is misspelled

Often, bad actors will register for a domain that is similar to a legitimate business’s domain, in order to phish information from their customers. Unfortunately, anyone can buy an unused domain name. For example, a cyber criminal may create an email at @amozon.com to try and trick customers who shop at Amazon. Be cautious if you receive an email that contains a misspelled domain.

3.    The email has a generic introduction

Watch out for emails that are not addressed to you by name. If a company you have an account with is reaching out to you, they will know your name. Emails beginning with a generic introduction or subject line should be seen as a warning. Look out for emails starting with introductions like: “Dear customer” or “Hello user”.

4.    The message has a sense of urgency

Watch out for emails written in a way that try to get you to react fast. Messages containing “This invoice will be sent to collections if you do not respond today!” or “Respond as soon as possible to win!” should put you on guard. These phrases are meant to make you act quickly before you can catch potential red flags in the email. 

5.    There is a suspicious attachment or link within the email

Stop and think before you click. Be forewarned, attachments can contain malware and viruses that could infect your devices. If you are not sure an attachment is legitimate, do not click it!

You can check the destination of a link by hovering over it. If the destination does not match with the rest of the email, do not click it!

If you are ever unsure, find the company’s customer service email address on their website and send a new email enquiring about the authenticity of the original message.

6.    The email has a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes

If the email is poorly written, beware: it is likely a scam! Emails from legitimate businesses should not have multiple grammatical or spelling mistakes. If an email has errors that a native speaker of the language wouldn’t make, it should set off warning bells. Also, emails that include a template and are from large organizations should have been proof-read by multiple parties and therefore should not have typos.