WARNING – Phoney Hallmark E-card Scams are Out to Steal Mainer’s Information

Are you planning to send out a holiday e-card to a friend or family member who lives away? Be careful, as Hallmark is warning us of greeting card scams.

Recently, Ellen Marks, Assistant Business Editor of the Albuquerque Journal advised that this seasonal greeting card scam is not a Hallmark moment you'll want to remember.

She explains.

"Hallmark has warned about emails claiming to have a link to an ecard from a family member or friend that unleashes a computer virus if you follow the instructions on the link."  

Just because you see the Hallmark logo doesn't mean that you are on a Hallmark safe site.

There are scammers hiding behind the logo to steal from you. 

Before we stress out among the confusion on what is a legitimate Hallmark e-card and what is not, there are a few identifiers that will help you pick the phoney from the real.

• Locate the confirmation number in the email. If you look at the image below, you can clearly see that there is confirmation number in the email.

• Go to Hallmark.com and enter your email address.
• Now you can verify your e-card.

How to identify an e-card scam.

Just remember that e-cards don't usually come with attachments. So, if there is some sort of attachment connected to your e-card, it's probably not a good idea to click it.

If possible, delete the attachment and then delete it from your trash.

Another thing to remember is that e-cards don't require you to enter your password, username, or any other personal information. This should be a big red flag if they do.

How to identify a legitimate Hallmark e-card.

For Hallmark, a legitimate e-card will always have the senders email address in it. It will not show it coming from 'Hallmark.com.' According to the company, the senders first and the last name will appear in the subject line.

A few other things to remember about a phony Hallmark e-card.

• Misspellings in the card or email
• You don't know the sender
• You don't recognize the brand of the e-card

Finally, remember that many of these links not only are capable of stealing your personal information but can also load your computer with malicious spyware that can be harmful to your unit.

Be careful out there. Tis the season for thieves and scammers to take advantage of this holiday season. Be prepared and have a great Christmas and New Year!