Criminals use email to manipulate or trick you into unintentionally sharing personal information, financial details, or money.
These 'malicious actors' will use different tactics to trick you into sharing personal information, including:
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pretending to be from a well-known, trusted business or organisation, such as energy or telecommunications providers, Australia Post, banks and law enforcement agencies, sending invoices or fines that may include threats to cancel your service or charge an excessive penalty if you don't pay immediately
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money scams or financial schemes such as the 'Nigerian prince' scams, offering unexpected prizes and auctions to get you to give money or personal identification
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phishing emails that enlists a 'call to action' to trick you into revealing personal identification.
An email scam likely includes attachments or links where you can download 'proof' of legitimacy; however, opening the attachment or downloading the file can infect your computer with malware.