How to identify spam messages which aren’t really from your ISP
It’s easy to be deceived by spam messages which claim to be from your ISP, but there are often telltale giveaways
Spam email is a regrettable yet unavoidable aspect of modern digital life.
An estimated 3.4 billion spam messages are sent each day, making up around 45 per cent of global email traffic.
While many spam mails merely attempt to sell us goods and services, others are more malicious in nature.
Google alone blocks 100 million phishing emails on a daily basis.
Phishing underpins most cyberattacks against UK businesses, and given current geopolitical tensions, a fifth of the world’s phishing emails reportedly originate in Russia.
The consequences of this daily tsunami can be seen in everyone’s inbox, even if filters automatically redirect the vast majority of unwanted missives to Spam, Trash or Junk folders.
Unfortunately, when spam messages slip through this safety net, it’s surprisingly easy to be deceived by ones which pretend to be from legitimate brands or businesses.
ISPs are a popular target, since their names are instantly recognisable and the importance of their services makes people liable to panic when those services are reportedly jeopardised.
Engendering a sense of urgency means victims are less likely to smell a rat, and more likely to obey instructions.
It’s easy to disregard spam from an ISP you’ve never dealt with, but by the law of averages, you’ll eventually receive a spam message claiming to be from a company you have a contract with.
Nonetheless, vigilance and suspicion should enable you to identify spam messages before they can do any harm to your online security or personal finances…
Content elements
When you receive an email purporting to be sent by your ISP, take a minute to consider whether it could have been sent for a legitimate reason.
ISPs send marketing emails, occasional technical updates and product or service change notifications.
They’re extremely unlikely to email you about account closure, failed payment methods or one-off charges you’ve allegedly incurred.
Approach anything relating to money with deep suspicion. Why would an ISP feel obliged to tell you about a film you rented, or a product upgrade you haven’t signed up to?
Be especially wary of anything demanding urgent attention or action, for the reasons outlined above. Remember an ISP can ring you or write to you if they need to get in touch.
It’s not uncommon for consumers to contact ISPs in response to an urgent issue, but the reverse is very rarely true.
Look at the start of the email. Does it quote your name convincingly – “Mr J Smith” – or use a generic term like “Dear Customer”?
Some spam messages don’t even bother with introductions, which clearly isn’t how any legitimate business would conduct itself.
Technical elements
It’s easy to copy-and-paste ISP logos or graphics, but it’s impossible to disguise the origin of an email address.
Single-click or hover your mouse over the displayed address (which can be programmed to show almost anything) to see the actual sender address in brackets.
If an email was sent from support@yourisp.co.uk, the message is probably legitimate. If it’s zxcvbnm@asdfghjkl.cn (.cn being the country code for China), it’s certainly junk.
Country code top level domains (the last two country-specific letters of a website or email address) are often a dead giveaway, whereas a generic .com address gives nothing away.
Despite sterling efforts in repelling spam, Google’s Gmail service is widely used and abused by spammers. No respectable ISP would ever send correspondence through a Gmail account.
Nor would they send out an email without your personal account number featuring prominently.
If in doubt…
If you’re still unsure about an email’s authenticity, ring your ISP and ask if they sent it.
If they have, you can discuss any issues and next steps. If not, you’ve avoided a trap.
Alternatively, paste a sentence from the email into a search engine followed by the word ‘spam’, to see if anyone else has reported similar communiques.
Websites like Reddit may also have threads about spam messages and recent ISP junk mail experiences, which might offer insights.
