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You can usually recognize a phishing email sent on behalf of McAfee by the unusual payment requests it contains. You should delete this spam email.
McAfee phishing email: How to expose spam emails
McAfee is the company behind Antivirus, a popular virus software that customers can purchase for a fee. Phishing emails in the name of McAfee are regularly in circulation, trying to get you to part with your money.
- The subject line of the phishing e-mails then says something like “Invoice no.
for expired MCAFEE antivirus” or “McAfee subscription has expired”. The e-mail then prompts you to make the payment via a link.
- But if you look more closely, the sender is not McAfee, but a similar email address. Pixelated logos, spelling mistakes and an impersonal address also suggest that fraudsters are at work here. Threats that your account will be suspended within 48 hours if you don’t pay are also typical of phishing.
- Advanced URL manipulation techniques are used to disguise fake links. The scammers use the “userinfo” part of the web address to insert fake information and to conceal the actual URL. The phishing pages are designed very professionally and now even imitate CAPTCHA implementations to inspire confidence.
- The fraudsters are trying to obtain money in the name of large companies by sending fake emails, recreating websites that look very similar, luring people to them via links and then pressuring them to pay. The aim of phishing is also to obtain your data. But you should not be confused by this.
McAfee Spam email received: What you can do
If you are actually a McAfee customer and receive a dubious email, you should read it carefully for your own safety and take the appropriate action.
- Recognize the signs of a fake email, never click on links and simply delete the email or move it to the spam folder.
- If you are unsure whether the email is really from McAfee and you may not have paid a bill, you can always contact customer service and ask before making any payments.
- Change the password for your McAfee account if you have already clicked on the link in the email and entered your data. Also forward the fake email to the company at scam@mcafee.com to inform them about the scam.
How to expose phishing emails
As fake emails and websites are getting better and better, it is also becoming increasingly difficult to expose phishing and protect yourself from it.
- The crucial thing in phishing emails are the links. These want to lure you to fake sites.
- Therefore, check links in emails before you click on them. If you hold the mouse pointer over them, the actual URL behind them will be displayed. Compare this with the official website of the provider.
- Watch out for unusual domain endings. Reputable companies use well-known top-level domains such as.com,.de or.org. Phishing links may have unusual endings, e.g. B.
- HTTPS is no guarantee of security. A padlock symbol or “https://” only means that the connection is encrypted – not that the site is genuine. Criminals often use free SSL certificates for phishing sites.
