How often do you check your spam folder? I find myself doing it daily, partially because I want to make sure that everything in that folder belongs there. I go over the contents (of course, without clicking on anything in there) largely for my own amusement. Most of what I receive is pretty transparently junk. But someone must be falling for these things because there's a reason the spammers keep preying on innocent people. It must be profitable for them.
I know you're too smart to fall for any of the scams but let's go over a few things, just in case. One of the big giveaways is when the scammer uses an email address that makes no sense. For example, if you receive something supposedly from NetFlix, the return email would be something like “Netflix.com.” but more often the address is gibberish. I keep receiving messages warning me that my Peacock payment was declined and that I'd have to update my payment method. Here’s an actual email address from a sender: 630OyEAADD.630OyEAADD@ivz.bjeyhuylawyqvk.us.
I got this one today:
I haven't had a Netflix account for several years.
I also receive an alarming number of spam messages saying, “YOU HAVE RECEIVED A DIRECT DEPOSITED OF $6000 IN YOUR CASHAPP ACCOUNT.” I get probably 10 of those every day. I'm sure it must involve a request to supply my banking information. The wording is a bit awkward too. I’ve received a direct deposited…” Ha HA! I'm too smart to fall for that one! But I truly wonder who does fall for it. Someone must be falling for it. But I can't think of anyone who would, unsolicited, put $6000 in my Cash App account.
In today’s spam folder, there’s a dire message warning me that all of my icloud pictures will be deleted. I don’t have any icloud images to delete.
Another scam I get on the daily is from a woman somewhere would like to meet me and have sex tonight. Some of these are extremely graphic in nature describing exactly what she would like to do with me. Yup, I'm sure our area is just crawling with young women who'd like to have a tryst with an… let’s just say older man.
Oh, another way to determine whether or not something is spam is to see if they use your actual name. In these come-ons, I'm always addressed by my email user name. No genuine message would call me scbiddle... they'd use my name.
Like I said, I know you're also way too smart to fall for these schemes, but apparently someone does.
Another sure-fire spam warning is the number of grammatical and spelling errors contained therein.
Unfortunately, I must go now. I just received a message that my grandson is in jail and needs money to bail him out, so I have to go get the Apple gift cards he asked for. This one's a bit odd, because last time I checked, I didn't have a grandson... better be safe though and get him out.
Until I return, please enjoy this classic sketch from Monty Python. Spam, spam, spam spam...