Not really, the service providers do have spam filters to reduce the amount of annoying sales emails and do detect some potential cyber criminal emails trying to persuade you to click on links, add malware to your computer and then steal from you.
The trouble is the sheer volume of emails sent everyday here and abroad is too difficult to monitor and way too numerous to detect every potential threat they may contain. The service providers can limit threats to a degree but mostly you are on your own.
Up until very recently they weren’t that difficult to spot, misspellings, broken English, bad grammar and poor sentence construction were easy enough to suss out. But now with AI being available to all the threats have changed and so have the emails.
Artificial Intelligence
The cyber criminal scumbags can now use AI not only to translate words but construct proper sentences and use correct grammar. The spelling will be correct(ish), it will almost inevitably be the US version of English which is often easy to spot. If you receive an email from an English company or person and it has US spellings be wary.
But the level of quality has raised significantly and they are much harder to distinguish from the real thing. The cyber criminals aren’t smarter they are still as awful as ever they just have clever tools to do the work for them, thanks AI. So it is worth checking an email more carefully now and in the future. Obviously the service providers are aware of this but things haven’t improved when it comes to detection, you just have to think smarter too.
Advertisement
- PRE-PAID SUBSCRIPTION WITH SIGN UP AND ACTIVATION ONLINE: A payment method (credit card or PayPal) must be saved in your Norton account to activate and use. No charge occurs before the billing date for the subscription renewal
- SUBSCRIPTION WITH AUTOMATIC RENEWAL: No service disruption since this subscription automatically renews annually. If you do not wish to renew, you can cancel the subscription renewal in your Norton account at any time before the day on whic…
- Protect multiple devices, including PCs, Mac, smartphones and tablets, against malware, phishing and ransomware with additional device protection (up to 10 devices)
Also see: AI Is Scary
If in doubt don’t do it, if you receive an mail from an unknown source asking you to click on their link for more details but you’ve never heard of them and don’t understand why it has been sent to you or you receive and an offer that sounds too good to be true, be careful. Now there are many legitimate companies trying to reach you about their products and services and their links are genuine and are sent in good faith. Don’t discount them just be aware of potential threats.
Nowadays most companies that are trying to sell you something are companies you have already subscribed to or are targeting your specific interests. Databases are often sold between companies to reach potential customers like you, although you may not have heard of them they could well be legitimate businesses with genuine offers.
How Do I Spot A Dodgy email Nowadays?
Look for the clues mentioned above as well as the actual email address itself e.g. if you receive an email from Cyber England it will be *****@cyberengland.co.uk, but if it is from *****@cyber-england.co.uk it is not genuine. The hyphen means that it is from a completely different source, it is the same as if it was a website link cyberengland.co.uk is my website but cyber-england.co.uk is nothing to do with me and has no connection as it a completely different entity. I know that is a subtle difference but it is real and could be there to fool you into believing it is an email or website link from me but takes you somewhere else entirely.
If the link is spelt incorrectly or looks different to what it should don’t click it. If it is from sales@*******.co.uk for example go to their website and check the spelling of company name is exactly the same, no dots, no hyphens no differences whatsoever. British Airways website link if britishairways.com not british-airways.com or british.airways.com this applies to email addresses too. I know I am emphasising my point but this is a very common method designed to trap you without you realising what they have done.
Suspicious emails can be reported to report@phishing.gov.uk and dodgy websites can be reported to the National Cyber Security Centre.
What If I Click It?
This happens all the time, you are busy and not really concentrating on what you are reading or you think that’s interesting and just don’t check the email properly before clicking the link. Does this mean you are in trouble most of the time no, but there is a potential the link could download a script to your computer in the background without you even seeing it and bam you are in trouble.
When I say most of the time no, what I mean is you could well be sent to a completely different location to the one you intended to go to and you are potentially on a scammers website doesn’t mean you are sunk. What it means is they want you to add say for example your bank details to buy a bargain or they need your personal details before proceeding with a deal something like that. These sites require an action before they can trap you, leave immediately report the email address or website address to the appropriate authorities.
What Happens If An email Link Makes My Computer Act Weirdly?
Then you are in trouble, if you receive an email click the link and your computer totally freezes or starts acting very strangely you may well have downloaded a script like I mentioned earlier without your knowledge. Then you receive a communication to get in touch with them via phone or a message on your screen saying ‘you have been hacked and you need to pay us to get your computer back’, then they mean it. This is called Ransomware a particularly cruel and heartless form of hacking used by ruthless scumbags.
What Is The Alternative To email?
There isn’t one not really, there’s the telephone or snail mail but they are not genuine alternatives. You can use software such as Microsoft Teams, Google Meet amongst others, but these are mainly used in business and emails are still frequently used anyway, so email it is.
Summary
As I mention all the time use common sense, if it looks dodgy it probably is. If you receive emails particularly from unknown sources don’t just click them as hackers email content is much harder to spot nowadays and they can catch you out. Check the exact spelling of the email address or website link before clicking if you’re not sure. email communication is here to stay and more diligence is needed to spot the evil underhanded criminals as they will inevitably use AI to smarten up their act.
