A few days ago, I received an email that appeared to come from the police, with the subject “Police Platform Against Cybercrime”. I was suspicious, so I looked into it online before taking any action.
I would also like to warn you that if you receive an email from the following address, or a similar-looking email address, do not open it, as it belongs to the category of phishing emails.
Example:
Do not click on any links and do not open any attachments.
There is no official public list of all known phishing email addresses, because cybercriminals create thousands of new, random email addresses every minute. For this reason, maintaining a complete list is impossible.
Instead of looking for specific email addresses, phishing emails are best recognised by the patterns and domain names commonly used by cybercriminals.
Common phishing email patterns
Cybercriminals often impersonate well-known organisations by making small changes.
- Spelling mistakes in the organisation’s name, for example: statsplolitiet31@politiet.dk (an extra “l”), or variations such as belastingdienst-nl@outlook.com.
- Free email domains. Official companies and government organisations never send emails from @gmail.com, @outlook.com, @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com email addresses.
- Random combinations of letters and numbers, for example: info-service-update4829@customer-support-alert.com.
- Unusual country codes or domain extensions, such as .ru (Russia), .cn (China), .cc or .info.
Which organisations are most commonly impersonated?
Scammers most often pretend to represent organisations that almost everyone knows.
- Banks: Rabobank, ING, ABN AMRO and ICS (credit cards).
- Parcel delivery companies: PostNL, DHL and UPS, often claiming that you need to pay a delivery fee.
- Government organisations: the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration), CJIB (traffic fines) or national and international police organisations.
- Streaming services and telecom providers: Netflix, Spotify and KPN, often claiming that a payment has failed.
How can you check whether an email is fake?
1. Check the part after the @ sign.
A genuine email from the Belastingdienst will always end with @belastingdienst.nl. Dutch government emails generally end with .nl, while foreign government organisations usually use .gov or their country’s official domain.
2. Check the link without clicking on it.
Move your mouse over the link (or press and hold it on your phone). The actual web address (URL) will appear. If it does not lead to the organisation’s official website, do not click on it.
3. Pay attention to the tone of the message.
Phishing emails often try to create panic by saying things like “Your account will be blocked within 24 hours” or by threatening legal action.