EMAIL SCAM SIGNS
Beware of the odd-looking email
Be on the lookout for misspellings, strange spacing and sentences that don’t read quite right.
How to spot a phishing email
Scam emails are often identifiable by irregularities in their appearance. Whenever you receive an email that claims to be from your bank or another legitimate business, look at it with a critical eye.
Remember that professional organizations like a bank likely have a considerable budget and staff to manage their messaging. It’s typical for many sets of eyes to review any written correspondence before it is sent or published. For that reason, obvious and repeated spelling, spacing and sentence-structure errors in an email appearing to be from a bank or other legitimate business are huge red flags likely indicating a scam.
It’s also important to look carefully at the sender’s email address. Does it match who the sender is claiming to be?
Remember that professional organizations like a bank likely have a considerable budget and staff to manage their messaging. It’s typical for many sets of eyes to review any written correspondence before it is sent or published. For that reason, obvious and repeated spelling, spacing and sentence-structure errors in an email appearing to be from a bank or other legitimate business are huge red flags likely indicating a scam.
It’s also important to look carefully at the sender’s email address. Does it match who the sender is claiming to be?
Don't share personal information
Understand that legitimate companies like M&T Bank will not ask you for personal information by email. If you receive an email asking you to provide account information, login credentials or passwords, it is almost certainly fraudulent.
And be wary of any unsolicited email that includes a hyperlink or attachment. Cybercriminals want you to click on links that will take you to websites or open attachments that contain malware — both set up to steal your critical information. When in doubt, don’t click the link or open the attachment!
Simple rules to guard against phishing
Even if you think you know how to tell if an email is a scam, it’s important to always follow best practices. Stick to these basic rules to protect yourself against fraud:
- When in doubt, don’t click any links or open any attachments.
- If the email is suspicious, don’t reply to the sender.
- Never provide personal information like account numbers or passwords via email.
Help protect your account with real-time fraud monitoring. Sign up for M&T Alerts, to receive timely updates about spending and suspicious activity via text or email.
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M&T Bank Alerts are available for your M&T Card through M&T Online Banking. Suspicious activity alerts notify customers of certain potentially fraudulent activity on their M&T Card. Alerts are designed to be a helpful account management tool, but they do not identify all potential fraudulent activity and are not a substitute for security and fraud precautions including, but not limited to, verifying statements and being aware of your outstanding payments and available balance. For your protection, “suspicious activity” and “card PIN change” email alerts cannot be disabled. M&T Bank is not liable for any losses customers may incur due to an alert not being delivered. Your mobile carrier's text messaging and data charges may apply.
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