"That's... highly improbable!"

It's Fraud Awareness Month in Canada, and I've compiled a list of things that a wary recipient might want to consider while trying to determine if a given message is legitimate or not. This is hardly a comprehensive list, of course, but it's a fine entry-level look at some of the subtler signs that a given offer is not on the straight-and-narrow.

• If you've never before communicated with an individual, they're probably not going to give you large sums of money. If the individual claims to be Hosni Mubarak, Ban Ki-Moon, a relative of Saddam Hussein, or the head of the Microsoft Lottery Team, it's even less likely that they will actually give you money.
• If your bank sends you a text message telling you that your ATM card has been compromised and you should call them immediately, and they've misspelled the name of your bank? It's probably not your bank. Ditto for things in the message that make it feel odd, such as substituting letters for some numbers ("call 703-5L5-BD45", or "call 7O3-SSS-l234"),
  s p a c i n g o u t a l l t h e w o r d s, or inserting apparently.random*punctuation_between|words. (As a side note, if you receive a text message or email from your bank that you feel might be legitimate, call the bank using a number you already have - the one on the back of your ATM or credit card.)
• If someone claiming to be a bank you've never used sends you a text message telling you that your ATM card has been compromised, do not respond to them to correct them and tell them which bank you do use.
• Facebook, Twitter, and your ISP have all told you that they will never ask you for your password in email. When you receive an email, purporting to be from one of these entities, telling you that your access will be shut off IMMEDIATELY if you don't reverify your account by mailing them your password? That's probably not legitimate.
• Things that seem suspicious from people you know in real life should warrant a non-email contact before action is taken. For example, when a Facebook friend sends you a message begging for some money because he lost his passport while on vacation? Give him a call and make sure that really happened. An email from your sister chortling over a YouTube video that seems to have you in a compromising position? Drop her a line asking about it before you view it.

Remember, the Internet isn’t a friendly place. There are a lot of people out in the world who are doing their best to take you for everything you have. Keeping that in mind will go a long way to keeping your accounts secure, your computer virus- and malware-free, and your money in the bank where it belongs.