Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Think you can spot a phishing email? Take our quick quiz to find out

Scammers have become quite sophisticated in their methods - and some phishing emails look real.
Scammers have become quite sophisticated in their methods - and some phishing emails look real.

In an increasingly online world we are often just one click away from catastrophe.

Many people believe they wouldn’t fall for a phishing fraud – but scammers have become increasingly sophisticated in their methods.

Often it can be hard to tell the fakes from the real deal.

What to watch out for

However, there are often hints – some subtle, and others less so, to look out for.

  • Strange emails addresses or URLs
  • If they have copied a firm’s branding, small flaws in the design may reveal it’s not real
  • Generic greetings – if it’s genuine they’d likely call you by your name.
  • Asking for personal details
  • Creating a sense of urgency in a bid to get you to click on a link

On its website Advice Direct Scotland says other clues include offering a free trial for a product and then asking for payment details to complete the order. 

Report scammers to police

The advice hub also warns people to be wary of emails from people they have never heard of claiming they have won a competition they don’t remember entering, as well as emails that offer investment opportunities with guaranteed returns.

Anyone who thinks they have been the victim of a scam can contact police on 101

Take our quiz to see if you can tell the difference between a real email and one sent by phishing fraudsters.

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This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.