Experts warn of email scams posing as party invitations

Scammers are sending fake Evite-style texts and emails during graduation season, tricking people into sharing their personal passwords and security codes.

The FTC recently sent a warning about fake party invites, and one man in Chicago is sharing his story in the hopes of warning others.

Greg Geuther, a Chicago trader, said he clicked an invitation email in his inbox and followed the prompts, because it looked like it was from a neighbor in his building. But when Geuther called and asked the sender about the upcoming event, "she said that she didn't send it."

"Evites were sent out to everyone in my address box, including friends, co-workers, neighbors," he said.

Soon Geuther realized it was a scam, when he started getting calls about a party invite that went out to all of his contacts.

When he clicked on the invitation, it asked him to input his personal information. 

"It seemed to trigger the infection," he said.

Scammers then can take that information and log into your other online accounts. Geuther said attempts to get into his bank account were unsuccessful. 

Online invitation companies like Evite said there's been a notable rise in phishing scams since the start of this year.

The fake emails use the company's branding and formatting to trick people into clicking malicious links and entering their personal data. 

Invite company Punchbowl recommended people look for broken layouts, or images that won't load, incorrect fonts, and spelling mistakes. They also warned to never enter a password when opening links from email.

Invites will always be sent from the company, not personal emails. 

"The reason bad guys always win is because someone always clicks the link," said retired FBI agent and cybersecurity expert Darren Mott.

Mott investigated cybercrimes for more than two decades

"Anything that asks you for a password should immediately set off bells and whistles, because they're trying to bypass your security controls," he said.

Before clicking a link, Evite recommended hovering your mouse over it. Legitimate links will never take you to another website.