GREENSBORO, N.C. — Two emails that look like they both came from Kohl's. Only one is a scam and the other is real, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the graphics, logo, and pictures in the email.
WHAT IS THE SENDER'S ADDRESS?
Like any email you get, you need to look at the sender's address. In this case, the real Kohl's email is from kohls.com.
The scam email is from a string of numbers and letters, and the giveaway is chinalivestock.com.
Before you click on anything, a sale, a survey, or a giveaway, you have to look at who really sent it to you. The key is the name before the "dot-com", but the scammers are very tricky.
They use lookalike names to trick you. It's a letter in the wrong place or a missing letter, but it is close enough to make you think you're seeing the correct name.
WHERE IS THE "." ?
In the real Kohl's email address, the full address reads Kohls@s.kohls.com. Do you see how the dot separates the "s" from the Kohls? The dot makes Kohl's the main address. Without a dot like this: Kohls@skohls.com, it's a totally different sender, a fake sender in this situation.
IT'S NOT JUST KOHL'S
A Triad woman got one of those fake emails, it claimed it was from "Sam's Club". Here's what happened next.
"It gives you an option for getting a reward. I did and then it told me I needed to send in $4.96 cents for shipping. Then they took out $13.95 and my bank called me and said this is a scam," said Patricia.
The bank is helping Patricia work things out, but it's always better to not be in that situation. Stop and check who the sender is before you click.