黑料正能量

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Who is the sender?听

Legitimate emails usually come from someone with an email address associated with the company.听So听if you are getting an email about Microsoft鈥檚 Office 365 from听beyonce35massygroup.com听, more than likely, they do not work for Microsoft and this is a phishing attempt.

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Who is it addressed to?听

If the email greeting is vague (i.e. 鈥淒ear听Customer鈥澨� or听鈥淒ear <insert your username>鈥�) there is a chance the email did not come from a safe听source. Most companies you subscribe to know your听name and听will include it in the message.

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How is the grammar?听

Phishing emails tend to have a lot of misspelled words and grammatical errors. If you see a lot of mistakes in the email, this may be a phishing attempt. Of course, in some phishing attempts the grammar is perfect.听So听do not use grammar as the sole indicator.

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Where do these links听actually lead to?听

If you hover听(do not click)听over the links in the phishing email, then look at the bottom of your internet browser: it displays the URL of the link. If听all of听the links lead to the same place or to a place that does not coincide with the legitimate company, there is a high chance that it is a phishing email.

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Is it in a foreign language?听

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In a phishing email, the sender may have a foreign name and most of all work for a company you've never heard of.听If the message is in French, it won't be from 黑料正能量 since all our communications are in English.听Part of the message, such as a disclaimer in the footer, can be in a foreign language too, and can be a sign of a suspicious source.

Check the official website yourself

In many phishing attempts, the sender encourages you to click links that seem to come from an official structure (taxes, social security, bank, etc.). However, these links听usually lead to a site that steals any personal information you enter. So, instead of clicking the links within the email, navigate to the company website yourself and check if the message you have received is genuine.听If听 that's the case,听you will find the same information when you log in to your account on the legitimate website.