How to Recognise and Avoid Phishing Scams

What is phishing?

Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted via email, phone, or text message by someone impersonating a legitimate
an institution in order to trick individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking, and credit card information, and passwords.

The information is then utilized to get access to sensitive accounts, which can lead to identity theft and financial loss.

Common Phishing Email Characteristics:

This Offer Is Too Good To Be True

Lucrative offers eye-catching or attention-grabbing comments to capture people’s attention rapidly.

Many say, for example, that you have won an iPhone, the lottery, or some other expensive prize. Simply do not open any bogus emails.

Remember that if something appears to be too good to be true, it most often is!

Sense of Urgency

Cybercriminals frequently urge you to act quickly because fantastic discounts are only available for a limited period.

Some will even warn you that you have a few minutes to answer. When you receive such emails, it is better to simply disregard them.

They may occasionally inform you that your account will be suspended unless you update your personal information quickly.

Most reputable firms provide enough notice before terminating an account and never require customers to update personal information via the Internet.

When in doubt, go directly to the source rather than clicking a link in an email.

Hyperlinks

A link may not be what it seems. Hovering over a link displays the URL to which you will be routed if you click on it.

It could be something different or a popular website with a mistake, such as www.bankofarnerica.com – them is actually an ‘r’ and an ‘n’, so check carefully.

Attachments

Don’t open any attachments in emails that you weren’t expecting to see or that don’t make sense. They frequently have payloads like malware or other ransomware. A.txt file is the only type of file that is always safe to click on.

Unusual Sender

Whether it appears to be from a person you know or someone you don’t, if anything seems unusual, unexpected, out of the norm, or just generally suspicious, don’t click on it!

Prevent Phishing Attacks:

Despite the fact that hackers are constantly developing new methods, there are several things you can do to secure your organization and yourself:

• Spam filters are a tool to block spam emails. In order to detect whether a message is spam, filters typically look at its origin, the software used to send it, and how it looks. It isn’t always 100% correct because spam filters occasionally even reject emails from trusted sources.
• In order to stop fraudulent websites from launching, you need to modify the browser settings. When you attempt to access a false website on a browser’s list, the address is denied or an alert message will pop up. The browser’s settings should only permit reputable websites to open.
• Many websites display visitors’ user images while requesting that they log in. This kind of technology might be vulnerable to security intrusions. You should regularly change your Passwords and you should never use the same password for several accounts. Additionally, using a CAPTCHA system on websites is a smart move for increased security.
• Monitoring systems are good for banks and other financial institutions to stop phishing. People can report phishing to industries to prosecute these bogus websites. Employees should receive security awareness training from their employers to understand the threats.
• To stop phishing, always change your surfing behaviors. Always get in touch with the business directly if verification is necessary before providing any information online.
• Hover over the URL first if an email contains a link. “HTTPS” indicates a secure website with a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate. All websites must eventually have a functioning SSL.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have learned about Phishing. Phishing is a type of cybercrime in which a target or targets are contacted via email, phone, or text message by someone impersonating a legitimate institution in order to trick individuals into providing sensitive data such as personally identifiable information, banking, and credit card information, and passwords.