We all get many spam emails. The algorithms flag many and send them directly to the spam folder which we rarely look at. But some emails escape from the algorithm and make it into our inbox. They may contain links to malware or malware embedded in the images or anything in the email. You need to be alert to find them. In this guide, we explain to you how you can spot emails that contain malware.
How to identify malicious email that has a virus
If you are not feeling safe with emails you are getting and need to spot emails that contain malware, the following tips can help. These tips will help you find out if the email is malicious or safe.
- Check for the sender’s address
- Check the CCs and BCCs
- Check the format of the email
- Check the language and spelling
- Search the content of the email
- Follow precautions when opening email attachments
Let’s get into each tip and know how to spot emails that contain malware. These are all inter-related and you need to keep all these in mind before checking an email.
1] Check for the sender’s address
Whenever you get an email from someone you know or someone new, always check the sender’s email address. There are huge chances that some others are sending emails with the mail id replicating the brand you trust, or people you know. Don’t get confused and never click on a link unless you trust the sender and the email completely.
2] Check the CCs and BCCs
Spammers send emails in bulk to people. If you are doubtful of an email, check the CCs and BCCs where you can know if the email is sent to you alone or to a group. You know how you receive your emails and can know if they can be trusted or not after checking the sender’s address and CCs and BCCs.
3] Check the format of the email
Generally, the formatting of the email looks off and they can be easily spotted as spam or malware. But there are some emails that look as professional as a big corporation and still contain malware. Read the content carefully and you will find the mistakes in formatting links and text which may be irregular for a large corporation.
4] Check the language and spelling
You can easily know how people you know format text and write spellings. In emails that are spam or contain malware, they don’t usually care about spellings, choice of words, etc. You need to keep an eye on that and find out if there is any mistake in that. After that decide if the email is trustworthy or not.
5] Search the content of the email
If you get an email mentioning an exclusive offer and asking to click on a link to avail it, search for it on the internet before clicking. Those links may contain malware that may be harmful to your devices. Copy and paste the content of the email into the search engine and you can find the replicas easily on the internet.
6] Follow precautions when opening email attachments
You need to follow a few precautions to take when opening email attachments.
Read: How to scan email attachments online for virus.
These are the different ways using which you can spot an email that contains malware.
Can an email contain malware?
Yes absolutely, Emails can contain malware embedded in links, or attachments. We need to think twice before clicking on any link or opening any attachments that we get from sources we don’t know.
Read: Precautions to take before clicking on web links
How do I check email for malware?
Emails that contain malware can be spotted easily by paying close attention to the content and sender’s address. You need to carefully examine what the email is trying to say before proceeding forward with links or attachments.
What do malware emails look like?
Malware emails look like the emails we generally get but they can be formatted badly with bad grammar and spelling. The content may seem confident but desperate. Read the content carefully and use search engines to examine the content.
Related read: Why would someone want to hack my computer?
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