It has come to our attention that there is a series of dangerous emails being circulated that we wanted to share. While there are many email scams out there, the ones we are talking about are especially tricky, since they are impersonating website hosts such as Google, Hotmail, and even WebDrafter. They are targeting anybody with an email address. If you are reading this message, this means you!
Some of these messages claim that your email password has expired or your account has been locked. Other messages may have an attachment or information that looks like a bill.
Here are some basic common sense ways to check if a message is legitimate and to protect yourself and your data from harm:
- Check where the message is coming from. The name of the person can easily be faked, but the address where the message came from is much harder to impersonate. Click to reply to the message and look at the email address that appears. The text after the @ symbol is the domain name where the message came from. If you do not recognize where the message is coming from, this is a big red flag.
Also, does the email look like it comes form a real person? Messages from WebDrafter will either come in the form of a newsletter to all clients or a direct message from one of our staff. If the message is regarding your personal account, it will never be delivered to you via newsletter. Any direct messages about your account will come from a staff member with a name, logo and phone number in our email signature. - Check the subject line. Do the words have letters replaced in it with numbers, symbols or accented letters? This is a method commonly used to trick spam blockers that are looking for certain words but still make the message look legitimate at a quick glance for the unsuspecting person.
- Check the contents of the message. Open the email, be careful not to click on any links or open any attachments. Does the contents of the message make sense or is it gibberish? Is the spelling and grammar correct or does it sound sloppy or foreign? Remember most web hosts are big companies and have teams of professionals proofreading what is sent out. It is very unlikely that anything legitimate would have typos or grammatical errors.
If you receive an email message that you find suspicious, please contact us or forward your email to phishing@webdrafter.com.
