How to Tell If an Email is Legitimate

Email has become one of the most is email legitimate tools for modern communication and business. However, it was not always this way. Email has long been used as a tool for criminal deception. Almost as soon as it became widely adopted, it began to be used as a means to steal information and commit fraud, just like telephony and paper mail.

Email fraud isn’t just a threat to your privacy, it can also be very costly. In 2021 alone, Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams cost US businesses $2.4 billion [].

Scammers know how to make emails look legitimate. They can use official logos, structure, and even the word Log In in their messages to reassure recipients that they’re dealing with a legitimate sender. But there are still a few tell-tale signs that you should be looking out for to identify phishing emails.

“Is an Email Legitimate? How to Check for Scams

One of the biggest warning signs is poor spelling and grammar. A misspelled word or two can be forgiven, but if you see it throughout an entire message it should be a red flag. Another sign is a sense of urgency or an element of surprise. If an email is asking you to urgently click a link or open an attachment, it’s probably not legit.

You can also check the legitimacy of an email address by checking its MX record. This records which computers are authorized to send emails on behalf of a domain. The record can be found by searching for the domain name in a search engine. You can also try hovering your mouse over a link in an email to check whether it goes where it says it does.…