Police: Watch Out for Bogus Emails

It never ceases to amaze me that some of the emails I get at home are so obviously fake. What does amaze me is that some people will still fall for them.

People, please, nothing is free and if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck. Delete the email and don’t respond to
them. Once you do, you’re hooked and could lose thousands of dollars before you know it.

Here are tips from our IT department: Be extremely skeptical of forwarded emails. Look for spelling errors like this one: “Please check your Bnak of American Acconut.” 

Any email chain letter you receive is more than likely false than true. Look for the telltale phrase, “Forward this to everyone you know!” 

Watch for frequent use of UPPERCASE LETTERS, bold and multiple exclamation points!!!!! Research any factual claims an email states such as, “Your Amazon order was canceled – pick up the phone and call Amazon or log into your account and check.”  

Here’s an example of an absolute garbage email – “Please forward this email to your friends…For every person that you forward this e-mail to, Microsoft will pay $250.00.

Remember to pay attention to these signs when you get an email.  If you do, you are less likely to become a victim of email scams or hoaxes.

Thank you to Sandy Springs own IT department for their contribution to this week’s blog.

Officer Larry Jacobs is the Crime Prevention Officer for the Sandy Springs Police Department. He can be reached directly at ljacobs@sandyspringsga.gov