Spam is a term used to describe unsolicited commercial email. The subject material of spam is unwanted and
the volume is often frustrating and annoying. A huge percentage of spam is badly
written junk that most people would never consider opening. Usually the emails
are poorly written to avoid detection by junk mail filters.
Spoofing refers to email that appears to have been sent from someone other than the real sender. Virus writers and individuals who send junk email or "spam", typically want the email to appear to be from an email address that is not their own. Thus, the email cannot be traced back to the originator.
Typically, you will know that your email has been spoofed, if you see one of the following things in your email:
UWF students and employees continue to be targeted by online scammers posing as companies such as Region's Bank, PayPal, Washington Mutual, eBay, and Wachovia.
When an e-mail comes from your bank, Credit Card Company or even eBay, it’s natural to pay attention. The bad guys know that, and that’s why “phishing” -- sending e-mails designed to persuade you to disclose personal information -- is increasingly prevalent. When you take the bait, thieves can end up with your credit card details and Social Security number, leaving you vulnerable to fraud and identity theft. - USA Today Weekend
The normal format of a phishing scam is an email that looks official, is apparently sent from the bank itself, and that requests you to input your personal details (often including credit card and PIN number) for the purposes of account confirmation. These emails generally use genuine logos and text styles, often taken directly from the bank's Web site, to try to fool the recipient.
