Receiving a party invitation online isn’t that unusual. Many people now use online services such as Punchbowl or Paperless Post to send invites to parties, weddings, baby showers, and more. Scammers are taking advantage of this to trick people into giving away sensitive information that can be used for account theft, fraud, and other criminal activities.
Learn how to spot a fake party invitation scam and stop party invite scammers before they get your data.
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A Fake Party Invitation Scam That Looks Real
Party invite scammers use emails that look like legitimate electronic invitations, with branding designed to fool recipients. They may mimic the look of a real invitation service. They may use a generic name for the sender in hopes you’ll recognize it and won’t be suspicious. In some cases, they may have gained access to a friend’s email account and are using that person’s name to make the invitation seem legitimate.
The critical part of the fake party invitation is the RSVP button. On a real digital invitation, this will go to the electronic invitation site (Punchbowl, etc.) so that you can enter your response.
A fake party invitation scam uses the RSVP button to take you to a site that mimics the legitimate invitation service. You’ll be asked to enter details like your name, email address, and email account password. The scammer will use these details to access your email account and steal data or perpetrate further scams.
In some cases, you’ll be prompted to download a file or app to view the invitation. These downloads may contain malware.
How to Spot and Avoid a Fake Party Invitation Scam
If you’re not expecting an invite, be suspicious. Contact the person you think it’s from via phone or SMS, and check that the invite is real. Don’t reply to the email or click any links.
You can also:
- Hover your mouse cursor over the RSVP link (if you’re using a computer) to see the destination address. If it doesn’t lead to an official domain, such as paperlesspost.com, pp.events, or links.paperlesspost.com for Paperless Post, or punchbowl.com for Punchbowl, don’t click it.
- Check the sender’s email address. If it doesn’t match the contact details you have for your friend or family member, this is a red flag.
- Make sure you don’t download anything. Real paperless invites do not need you to download data, apps, or attachments.
Never enter your personal details and definitely never share an existing password for any of your accounts. A legitimate invite will never ask you for this.
If you’ve entered your email password on a suspicious site, change it immediately anywhere else you reused it, and enable two-factor authentication.
Stay in the Know About Online Scams
Online invitations are just one way scammers use technology that’s supposed to make life easier to trick unsuspecting victims. Stay vigilant and double-check any communication that’s arrived unexpectedly. You can also keep yourself up-to-date with the latest scams by signing up for the Scam Alerts service. Find out what scams are doing the rounds right now so you can stay confident online.
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