Are you Scam Savvy?

Criminals are turning to more sophisticated ways to take your money, whether through online offers, emails or telephone calls. Can you outsmart them? Put your ability to spot a scam to the test with Take Five's spot a scam Quiz and see if you are scam savvy.

Things to look out for in emails…

1. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be cautious of an email subject line or content that looks false or causes suspicion.
2. Look out for poor spelling and grammar in emails. It can be a clear sign of phishing.
3. Be suspicious of requests for lots of personal information. Ask yourself why do they need to know that? Or what is its relevance?
4. Is there a deadline or countdown? Fraudsters will often use pressure to try and get you to act quickly and provide what they want.
5. Check the sender's email address; hover your cursor over the senders email address as it’s listed in your inbox. If the website displayed isn’t in the name of the alleged email sender, it could be a phishing email.
6. If you receive an email from an unknown sender, don’t action it without verifying the sender.
7. Delete any suspect emails or text messages. Don’t forward it on to anyone as this can add some credibility and encourage the recipient to follow any instructions.
8. Check the person who called you, or who sent you an email from an organisation, is genuine. Call them back on a verified number from the organisation's website or telephone directory.
9. If you believe you have received a fake email, phone call or text message, contact the genuine party to notify them.
10. Be careful if you have to allow anyone to have remote access to your PC or device. You must be certain the request is coming from a trusted source.

A quick jargon buster…

Phishing
Phishing is where a fraudster will send an email which appears to be from a legitimate company, attempting to obtain personal details from you. These phishing emails often contain a link directing you to a website which will ask you to re-verify your details.

But beware, this will usually be a fake website but it will look real and could also trigger the unknowing download of a virus to your PC or device. If the fraudster gets hold of your password and personal details they can use this information to commit further crimes.

Vishing
This is very similar to phishing but takes place over the phone. Instead of getting you to go to a website, the fraudster may request personal details from you directly or ask you to transfer money to an account.

Smishing
Just like vishing, fraudsters contact you by phone but instead of a phone call it is done using text messages where you are usually asked to follow a link or call a telephone number. This is called smishing.

Twishing
Again, this is another form of phishing but this scam takes places on Twitter and often involves getting users to hand over their usernames or passwords.

View further advice on how to protect yourself online here