Takralus posted at the official Diablo III forums to warn and educate fans how to detect a Diablo III invite is a fake email. Beware of phishing, and scam schemes.

The first sign the beta invite you get is real is there WON’T be any links to Battle.net. That simple. You have to manually enter the URL to the Battle.net Account page on your browser, and verify that your account is flagged to access the Diablo III beta installer client.

Bashiok: We have begun early media and fansite outreach in preparation for the upcoming Diablo III beta test. The email they are receiving clearly states that we do not have a date to announce for the start of the beta test.

While we appreciate the interest in the beta test, we’d like to take this opportunity to caution everyone of potential phishing attempts or scams. Emails from Blizzard Entertainment will NEVER ask you for your password, and if you are selected for participation in the beta test, you won’t need to click any links in any corresponding email that you’d receive from us. When the time comes, players accepted into the beta test will be able to sign in to their account at www.Battle.net and see a Diablo III Beta license as one of their game licenses, as well as the ability to download the beta.

In order to be eligible to participate in the Diablo III beta test, you should set up a Beta Profile on your Battle.net account, by following these instructions

You’ll want to stay tuned to the front page blogs of this community site for future announcements regarding the Diablo III beta test.

Takralus: We’d just like to make it clear that the we have NOT announced the start of the beta test yet, and any emails we have sent out about the beta to fansites and the media are merely to ensure they are aware of its approach.

We know you’re all excited about the beta (we are too!) but please be super careful right now in regards to phishing and scam emails.

Remember, Blizzard will never ask for your password in emails.

If you’re lucky enough to be selected for participation in the beta test, the email you’ll receive will not require you to click any links.

The safest way to check in you have beta access is to sign in to your account at www.battle.net and look for a Diablo III Beta license as one of your game licenses. You will also be able to download the beta from there.

Make sure you’re eligible to participate in the Diablo III beta by setting up a Beta Profile on your Battle.net account. Need instructions? Here you go 🙂
https://eu.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_GB&articleId=37552&pageNumber=1

Keep you eye on the front page of the Diablo Community site for future announcements about the beta.