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Last updated on July 5th, 2024 at 11:51 am
I was recently sent a very authentic-looking scam email. The thing is most of these emails have a tell-tell sign that they are scams.
This email seemed to be from Citibank but I saw the tell that it wasn’t. Keep reading to find out more.
The email
The email looked very authentic and even had proper brand logos and other common additions such as app store branding as well.
Yet there is a tell that many people will overlook.
You may ask what this tell might be? Well, let me point this out It’s usually the sender’s email.
Remember that no matter how much branding or how authentic the email looks if it is not sent from the brand being mentioned in the email it’s a fake.
always check the sender’s email
As I mentioned above always check who sent the email. If the email address isn’t branded for the company that the email claims to be from that’s a big red flag (🚩).
For example, this email stated to be from Citibank yet the email was sent from what could be perceived as a made-up email address.
<moonstone@properties-november.com>.
So this is clearly a scam or phishing email. Many people can overlook this because it’s so authentic and has all the proper company logos and branding.
Another thing to point out is that the email has a generic opening. No dear So-so or customer name. It has a plain dear customer.
Other tells of a Phishing email
The text in the email looks official but as you keep reading you may see at some point that it asks you to verify your payment info.
For this, you should never click on any buttons or links.
More branding which looks legit
This email also had some more valid-looking Citi logos and AppStore branding. You can also note that the email is asking you to confirm your payment card.
Why would you need to do that if this is supposed to be account-related issues for log-in attempts.
The final portion of the email had all the official-looking fine print as well.
What you can do
If you are sent an email such as this. Always check the sender’s email. Never reply back or click on any links no matter how official they may look.
Always visit your accounts directly. Log in to them to check for any issues.
You can also forward these types of emails to Citi you can also view more ways to contact them as well.
