According to the latest study carried out by the Criminality Statistical System (SEC), of the total reported cybercrimes, 89.6% corresponded to computer fraud. These data show that Internet fraud is a trend that is on the rise, so you have to take precautions and know how to identify the different aspects that can cause you to fall for fraud.
Practices to keep in mind when checking email to avoid falling for these online scams:
It must be verified that the name of the sender is known and the email address is legitimate. To do this, you have to check the domain (the following to the @ in the email address) to verify that it is an official email or claims to be who it is.
You should be wary if spelling, concordance or wording errors are detected, since cybercriminals often use automatic translators.
It is recommended to pass the cursor over the links contained in the email. Generally, the "real" address of the link appears in a small window, if it does not match the one that appears in the email, it is probably a scam.
Caution should be exercised when opening attached emails, especially those that claim to install some kind of software on the computer.
The most common Gmail scams
Google support. In the case of receiving an email that offers Gmail Technical Assistance to recover the username and password of the account or to configure it, you should be suspicious. Most likely, they will ask you for money to do that Helpdesk service. Something Google doesn't charge for."
Hacked Gmail account or virus computer. Another very common Gmail scam is where you receive an email saying that your Gmail account has been hacked or that your computer has a malicious virus.
Account update. The entry of an email stating that the account must be updated or else it will be suspended is another scam. You do not have to take any action and be suspicious of this type of email.
Google lottery. Many of the scams done through email are those related to fake prizes. One of them is that the user receives an email stating that he has won a Google lottery prize. In it, personal data is requested to collect the prize, which is false since the company does not carry out lottery draws.