Crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s

I got an email the other day from a financial institution about how to watch out for scam emails and sites looking to expose users to malware and identity theft. Warnings like that always get my attention because they tap into my fears. 

The email explained that scams are on the rise and offered a few things to watch out for including: URL errors and issues and requests for personal information.

Like other warnings I’ve seen in the past, the email suggested watching out for bad grammar and spelling mistakes. The thinking is that legitimate sites take care to avoid errors. If you spot poor grammar, spelling, or formatting mistakes in content, that’s often your first clue it’s a fake site. 

That’s great, but what do you do when you’re a writer and you’re always reading for tone and grammar. I’ll read something and I’ll go yes, that’s a fake, that’s not real. 

Of course when I look closer I’ll realize that it’s not an email or text from a scammer but a note from my wife to pick up milk on my way home. 

Oops, sorry honey. Love ya honey!

Or a note from a friend, who’s a great guy and wonderful friend, but plays it fast and loose with his spelling, grammar and punctuation. Let’s just say his sentences tend to run together into one big one, his commas tend to be few and far between, and he gives new meaning to phonetic spelling.

Oops, sorry Charlie. Love ya big guy!

Or what about my own writing. Some days I’m better with the grammar than others. What’s that mean on the days, when I’m not feeling it — more reasons for the critics to come out.

Thanks scammers. Thanks for nothing.

Yikes.