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If you receive a suspicious e-mail DO NOT RESPOND to it. By responding to the e-mail you are allowing the sender to get your e-mail address. They cannot get your e-mail from WOL, they can only respond to your classified ad through WOL.
Tips on Evaluating the Legitimacy of an Email
A) The Senders Email Address
The "Send Email Form" requires the sender to enter their email address. This can be the first thing to evaluate. If it is from a local internet service provider, a legitimate company or person's domain name, etc. then probably it is a legitimate email. Always be suspicious of email from the big free email providers, like Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Google. Yes, many of us use these service providers as well, but the vast majority of spammers and dishonest people use these services too.
B) The Subject Line of the Email
Previous scam responses have included things like the following in the subject line of the response email:
Famous Celebrities or People
My New E-mail Address
Sounds Good
Payment and Pickup Arrangements
Interested Buyer!
Hallo!
Massenhafter Steuerbetrug durch auslaendische Arbeitnehmer
Geronimo!
Paranoider Deutschenmoerder kommt in Psychiatrie
C) The content of the email.
Many times scam emails are filled with misspellings and gross grammatical errors. Yes, we all make mistypes but non-English speakers are prone to more blatant mistakes than mistypes. Also, foreigners may use "Kings English" that the UK spread throughout the world. For instance, they commonly use the word "advert" instead of our "ad" or "advertisement" and our "ize" is usually spelled "ise" such as Utilize is spelled Utilise. Sorry all you residents from the UK and other countries that use Kings English, but unfortunately overseas scammers use your English instead of American English or slang.
D) Payment / Method of Payment
Often you can tell that a response is a scam if the potential buyer wants to pay by cashiers check, money order, or if they want to overpay for an item and have you refund them the difference. In addition they may ask for your bank account information or other personal info, which should NOT be given out in an email. Please do NOT respond to anyone that offers payment via a money order - the likelihood of it being a scam is very high .
E) Countries and Foreign Languages
Nigeria is the most common country in which these scams originate, and it is best not to reply to any email related to this country. The Philippines and the U.K. are also commonly used and should be avoided. In general be suspicious of email from outside of Texas and especially never open attachments or click on links from emails that are in a foreign language. You really should never open an email or click a link in any email when you do not know or fully trust its originator.
Other Tips Protecting Against Email Fraud and Viruses
Get a free email account and use that if you have any concerns or reservations about the legitimacy of an email request.
If the request seems too good to believe then it probably is. Delete it and forget about it.
NEVER give out bank account information, driver's license, passport, or any other personal info via email.
NEVER click a link or open an attachment from a suspicious email or one that you are not very sure of the originator. |
