Email is a method of sending correspondence (messages) over the Internet. It is a service that you can access with a mail application or online at a webpage.   

A name associated with an email address can be shown with or instead of the address on an email. This can be set to anything at all, and so doesn’t necessarily show the sender’s real name

There is no security system inherent in email or to confirm the sender of an email or its contents. All of the elements in an email can be faked or manipulated.

Clicking on a link can download malware. Any file could be malware. Even files that look benign and open normally can contain dangerous code that runs without you knowing.

Scammers often promise a large pay-out or reward but ask for a smaller amount of money upfront. The pay-out doesn’t come and they take the money sent in advance.   

Spam filtering is an automatic process designed so that only a small fraction of spam messages ever reach their destination. They normally place these in a separate “junk” or “spam” folder.

Be suspicious of: Unexpected emails; emails from banks or companies with which you do not have a relationship; any email that requests account information or threatens dire consequences for not immediately providing or updating personal information, such as closing an account; emails that claim to be from businesses but contain misspelled words or sloppy grammar; business messages sent from a domain name other than the one usually used by that business; emails that require urgent or immediate action; emails asking to send money to Western Union, MoneyGram or prepaid credit card; or anything that just seems not right.