I'm a volunteer with Infragard in the IT sector. I see alerts all day about new computer scams. If something doesn't look right, you are better off deleting it without opening. You can always ask the sender for a new copy if you think it was legitimate. Hackers have become very sophisticated. Once they have an "in" for your computer, they can take control of it, and use it to hack into other people's machines by giving the impression that you are sending them messages.
They used to be easier to spot with their poor use of the English language and terrible spelling mistakes, but this is no longer the case today. Something to keep in mind, no company will ever email you to "Verify" your account, or personal information. Unless you just signed up for new access to something and are immediately getting a confirmation email to verify that your email is legitimate, otherwise chances are that someone is phishing to steal your information. Facebook is a major source of details since it has your name, age, location, relationships, workplace and such. My girlfriend recently got a text message from a friend saying that she was in trouble and needed money sent to her. Fortunately, we knew that her friend was in Germany on vacation. The message appeared pretty darned legitimate. The person knew my girlfriend's name, place of work and cell phone number which they hacked from her friend's facebook account. It's scary what someone can do with a little information about you!
Personally, I think that computer hackers should be treated as Terrorists. They may not use bombs, but they still terrorize people, damage personal property and make our lives miserable which I believe meets the criteria of a terrorist. If a few were picked up and sent to Gitmo, I bet the rest would think twice before stealing information or hacking into our computers.
