I received an email today from MetLife, or at least a scammer phishing for my information posing as MetLife. Here is how I know this is a scammer looking to ruin my day.
Warning #1. I don't have an account with them.
I don't have a policy with them, so I found it interesting that they wanted to let me know that they had "detected irregular activities" with my account. If you do have a policy with a company sending you an email take a look at my other warnings to make sure it is authentic.
Warning #2. I wasn't expecting an email from them.
Maybe I don't have an account with MetLife, but what if I had been talking to a representative or friend who worked for MetLife. Even if I had a policy with MetLife, was I expecting their email? If the answer is no, you should suspect that the email isn't legitimate.
Warning #3. Grammar doesn't seem correct.
This is harder to pick up on and isn't always a good indicator. Sometimes the grammar is perfect, but in this case, you can see that they made a mistake. The word "this" instead of "these" indicates singular instead of plural. The next word, "activities", is the plural form of activity. A natural English speaker would use "these activities" instead of "this activities". Sorry for the English lesson, but If you do see grammar issues it should cause you to suspect that this email isn't legitimate.
Issue #4. The sender doesn't match the email.
Scammers can spoof an email address. Sometimes I even get emails spoofed to look as though they came from If you want to check who the email came from, simply hover over the email address. The spoofed email address may show up, so the next step is to click on the down arrow which will "Open Contact Card".
Now that the contact card is open I can see who the email came from. Louise@xxxxxreative.com to not seem to be the same as no-replys@metlife.com. I've actually blurred out part of the email address because I'm guessing the poor soul whose email address is shown here has no idea that they are being used by the scammer. My hunch is that the scammer dropped some malware on Louise's server or computer and that Louise has no idea that emails like this are being sent in her name.
Issue #5. The link doesn't match the information.
When a scammer wants you to click on a malicious link they aren't going to put up a warning sign. They are going to make it look legitimate and tag it with something innocent like "Get started". An easy step to take is to simply hover over the link or button and wait for your system to tell you where the link really goes. In this case, fashionbyadi dot com / lights. Doesn't seem like a MetLife link to me.
Here is the recap on how to spot a malicious email.
1. I don't have an account with them.
2. I wasn't expecting an email from them.
3. Grammar doesn't seem correct.
4. The sender doesn't match the email.
5. The link doesn't match the information.
What if you get an email from a friend or co-worker that seems suspicious? If you have the slightest feeling that an email might be suspicious, call the person and ask them if they sent you that email. Scammers can spoof email addresses from co-workers and friends, too.
What if I click an email and infect my computer? Work with a quality cloud computing provider, like SEN Technologies, who you can trust to protect your system and restore your system from backups, should something occur.
Jumping to the cloud can be painful.