The 4 most popular Spam Scams!

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If you have any sort of common sense you would know that there isn’t a prince or member of a royal African family that wants to send you their millions with no strings attached!


However, even though this sort of scam has been ongoing for many years, the overall principals of a spam scam are still going strong and continue to grow and become more malicious each and every day.

These are 4 of the most popular spam scams that like to pretend to come from an actual legitimate source, often tricking unknowing people into clicking on links and opening dangerous attachments.

Fake password changes

One of the most common scams is the password change alert or confirmation email that users will receive either from their bank, social media network or another trusted source. The scammers will trick the users into thinking their accounts have been hacked and urge them to click on a link or open a malicious attachment to reset their password.

False bookings

These scams appear to come from airlines or hotels to confirm reservations. Users will unknowingly click on a malicious link or open an attachment where they will be sent to a malicious website full of malware that ultimately exploits their system and steals their data.

Holidays and tragedies

These scams are great for cybercriminals because a lot of people get emails from people they do not know during the festive seasons or holidays or when a tragedy has occurred. For example, you may receive an email claiming to be collecting donations for victims of a hurricane or school shooting. When it comes to holiday scams, you may receive many emails from stores for special offers and discounts. Do not open attachments or click on links if you’re not sure where they come from!

Fake links

Malicious links on trusted, legitimate websites are a common occurrence these days. By simply clicking the link you will be taken to a site that is filled with harmful code and then installs malware on your system. The number of these fake link scams is low, however, it is still worrying and you should always be on the lookout!

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The best way to avoid being a victim is to always be suspicious of any emails containing links or attachments, even if they appear to be from trusted sources.

For more about email scams as well as our OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) services, call us on 021 110 0422 or email contact@osint.co.za

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