How to recognize fake emails. Unfortunately, there are methods to forge the sender of an e-mail since the appropriate checks are not always carried out during the reception phase, so you may find yourself a fake e-mail message that appears to be true.
Recognizing fake emails
If you have this suspicion, then you can verify the actual existence of the sender using the Mailtester online service.
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Enter the sender of the e-mail message in the appropriate text box and click on "Check": after the necessary checks (which may take several seconds), the service will respond to you with a variety of information. The last line concerns the email address: if it is highlighted in green it really exists, if is highlighted in red the address is false and you can safely trash the email.
If any other fields are yellow, discard the message anyway.
IF YOU HAVE ALREADY FALLEN THERE AND DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO
Let's see how to behave:
- if you have downloaded and executed an attachment, immediately restart your computer in safe mode and scan with an antivirus that will be able to detect and cancel any threats, then make sure to change the system password and any other passwords you typed after the infection;
- se you downloaded and executed an attachment and contracted ransomware, or you find yourself with a ransom request to re-obtain your data, immediately contact an expert;
- se you have entered your username, password or other information on a suspicious web page, immediately contact your credit institution or service whose credentials you disclosed and report the incident to the support team; they will know how to limit the damage of your actions.
In conclusion, pay attention to emails attached even from sources that seem known and authoritative, always check and verify before entering or sending sensitive data via email.
Download only verified attachments and do not run them on your PC. If you receive emails from Banks - State Bodies - or online services such as Paypal-Ebay-Amazon, check on your account that that email is truthful of the content it is indicating.
