Scam emails land in every inbox, and the good ones are convincing — a parcel notice, a bank alert, a too-good-to-miss offer. Learning to spot the tell-tale signs takes a minute and saves you from the number-one way accounts and money are stolen. Our GetMyPassword team breaks down how to recognise a scam email, the red flags to check, and exactly what to do when one arrives.
The classic red flags
- Urgency or threats — “your account will be closed in 24 hours.”
- A generic greeting like “Dear Customer” instead of your name.
- A mismatched sender — the display name says your bank, the address does not.
- Requests for passwords, codes or payment, which no real company emails for.
- Spelling and formatting mistakes, or an offer that is too good to be true.
Check the links and sender carefully
Before clicking anything, hover over links to see the real destination — scammers hide fake sites behind familiar words. Look at the sender’s full email address, not just the display name. And treat unexpected attachments as dangerous; a “invoice.zip” you were not expecting often hides malware.
What to do when one arrives
Do not click links or open attachments, and never reply with personal details. If the message claims to be from a company you use, open their site directly by typing the address, and check your account there. Then report the email as phishing or spam and delete it. When unsure, contacting the company through its official number settles it.
The safest assumption with any unexpected email asking you to act is that it is fake until proven real. Verifying takes a minute; recovering a drained account or hijacked login takes far longer.
Limit the damage if you slip
Anyone can have a bad moment and click. The way to make that harmless is to prepare in advance: give every account a unique password from our password generator so one stolen login cannot unlock others, and turn on two-factor authentication so a leaked password is not enough on its own. With those in place, a single mistake stays contained.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell if an email is a scam?
Look for urgency, a generic greeting, a sender address that does not match the company, requests for passwords or payment, and suspicious links or attachments. Any of these is a strong warning sign.
What should I do if I clicked a link in a scam email?
If you entered a password, change it immediately and anywhere you reused it, then enable two-factor authentication. Run a security scan if you downloaded anything, and watch the affected accounts for unusual activity.
Should I reply to a scam email to unsubscribe?
No. Replying confirms your address is active and invites more scams. Do not reply or click “unsubscribe” in a suspicious email — just report it as phishing or spam and delete it.