It seems like everyone has had this happen. An email appears in your in-box with a scary message. Something (they never seem to say just what) has happened to your credit card. Just reply to the message and give them your private information and they will make the problem disappear. This could actually be the start of your problems.
Your best option is to leave the email alone; delete it or don’t even open it. Please don’t add a password or any personal information. If they are posing as a credit card company, look on your card and call the company. Most likely, they are scammers fishing for personal information.
If you have the option to preview the email message, you should be able to do this safely. Look for some of these red flags to a scam:
- Check the email address. It may not have anything to do with your credit card company.
- Examine the company logo, it may look “off”, as if it is a bad copy of the logo.
- Look for misspelled words or awkward phrasing in the body of the email.
If you have doubts and questions, call the company or log into their official website. Don’t follow a link in the suspicious email; go to the website directly. Don’t open the suspicious email or fill out any forms.
Do report this email to spam@uce.gov. You should also report the scammer’s email to your credit card company.
Be smart and protect yourself.
