How to detect a scam email
The emails can look very professional and give the appearance of coming from a legitimate financial institution. They may include logos and brands that look genuine. Below is an example of one I received this week. For me, the giveaway that it was a scam is the fact that I don't bank with St. George, but as you will see there is a simple way to determine the authenticity of such emails.
This is the email I received:
Of course, the first rule is do not follow any links contained in the email.
Secondly, use the following instructions to check the authenticity of the sender of the email. As you can see in the screenshots above and below, the email address looks legitimate at first glance.
However if you click on 'reply' and then double click on the name the full address displays:
As you can see in this example the domain name is @mail.com rather than the expected @stgeorge.com.au.
If you are in any doubt call your bank or check the bank's website, as most have an up to date list of reported hoax emails.