What does a scam email look like?

All appears pretty normal

This is a scam email I received today from someone impersonating a friend. It looks completely realistic so how do I know this is not my friend changing his email? At first glance it just says his name and the icon is convincing. If you hover over the arrow down at the side of the impersonators name you will see their email address. In this instance:

Martin's true email address is (for example): MartinSurname605@Btinternet.com

The impersonators email address is (for example): MartinSurname6105@Outlook.com

(It goes without saying that I have altered the numbers and the surname, but this provides a clear idea of how close scammers are creating email addresses.)

If you have clicked and opened the email as I have, you have informed the scammers that your email address is active and you will get more of the same from here in. I clicked on this to show our Scam Hound followers just what to look out for.

Use your intuition and logical sense looking for the little things that seem odd. My friend would never say "Hi there" as an email opener. He would never ask if he could ask a question, he would just get to the point. These are the give aways and this along with the email address provides enough red flags to spam and block.

What are the impersonators trying to achieve?

* Once you click on the email it will register that your email is active. You will get more attempts against your account.

* If you reply they will most likely try to lure you into a conversation eventually asking for vouchers or bank transfer, with a sob story. (I replied to an email last year which is why I have been targeted again.) This resulted in the start of The Scam Hound.

How to avoid the impersonator email

If you believe it is not a friend

* Do not open the email.

* Block the email & report as phishing or spam to your email provider, this helps to stop others from getting the email.

If you are unsure, do not open the email.

* Contact you friend/ associate by WhatsApp, Messenger or phone to ask have they changed their email address. Just remember if they do not reply, give them time, they may be bombarded with people asking the same information as they have most likely been hacked with malware. Let them know what is happening as they can send an email from their official email address to alert everyone in their contacts.