How Do I Know If an Email Sender Is Real? Easy Security Tips

To know if an email sender is real, examine the full email address for subtle misspellings or extra characters, and check whether the message’s tone, grammar, and content match what you’d expect from that person or organization. Hover over any links to see if they lead to legitimate domains, be cautious of unexpected attachments, and treat urgent or high-pressure requests as red flags. If anything feels off, independently verify the sender by reaching out through an official website or phone number rather than using the contact information provided in the email.

How Do I Know If an Email Sender Is Real? Step-by-Step Guide

1. Check the Sender’s Email Address

One of the first steps in verifying an email sender is to look at the sender’s email address carefully. Many scammers use addresses that look similar to legitimate ones but contain small changes, such as missing letters, extra characters, or domain variations. For example:

• Legitimate: support@paypal.com
• Suspicious: support@paypa1.com or support@paypal-secure.com

If an email claims to be from a well-known company but is sent from a generic email domain (e.g., Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook), this is a red flag. Companies typically use their own domains for official communications.

2. Inspect the Display Name and Email Header

Scammers can spoof display names to make an email appear to be from a trusted source. Hover over the sender’s name to reveal the actual email address behind it. If the display name says “Amazon Support” but the email address is something random like “xyz1234@gmail.com,” it’s likely a scam.

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