Phishing is a form of online identity theft that involves tricking internet users to steal their confidential information, passwords, etc. to illegitimate websites.
Earlier, hackers have used emails to do phishing attacks. But with the extensive use of social media and smartphones with web access. The types of these attacks are getting multiplied and generally shown in the form of spam, emails or pop-ups which are often difficult to identify.
These emails contain a link that direct the user to a website known as a confidential website to obtain your personal information, but they are mere mimic with zero confidentiality.
Phishing scams are the most fraudulent forms of identity theft. Here are some basic guidelines to be familiar and guard against them.
1. Learn to Determine Suspected Phishing Emails
There are some characteristic to determine an attack through an email:
- They copy the identity of a real company.
- Duplicate the name of a company or an actual employee of the company.
- Involves websites that are visually lookalike as a real business.
- Advertise gifts or the loss of an existing account.
To protect your device from phishing emails:
- Do not reply to emails that demand financial information, even if it appears to be from a trusted source.
- Do not reply to emails from unknown senders.
- Phishing attempts are not likely to be personalized.
- Do not click on any links in suspicious emails, instant messages, or chat-room messages.
2. Never Give Out Personal Information
Beware of the links that demand personal details, even the email appears to receive from an enterprise you do work with. Never share your personal or financially confidential information over the web. Phishing websites usually duplicate the entire look of a legitimate website to make it appear genuine. If you have any doubt, browse the main website of the company and give them a call to ensure if they really sent you that email. Make it a tendency to check the address of website by hovering the cursor on the link. A secure website always starts with “https”.
3. Enhance the Security of Your Computer
Defend your computer with a firewall, anti-spyware, spam filters, and anti-virus software. Make some research to assure that you are getting the up-to-date software. Common sense and good judgment are as important as keeping your PC protected with a good antivirus and block phishing emails and websites. Additionally, upgrade your operating system and browser regularly with the most recent updates to protect your device from new viruses and spyware.
4. Don’t Open Links Included In Emails
Never browse your bank website by clicking on the link included in email. Use the URL of directly and bookmark them for later use if you want to go faster.
Avoid clicking on webpage links or other hyperlinks mentioned in email as it can redirect you to the phishing website. If you get an email from someone you have not heard from a long time, doesn’t matter whether they are from your friend and family, be cautious.
5. Phishing Is Not Limited To Online Banking
Phishing scams don’t only pertain to online banking. Most of the phishing attackers use most popular e-commerce websites to steal the personally identifiable data like Walmart, eBay, Amazon, etc.
If you understand that you become a victim of phishing attack, you can do a couple of things to protect you from these attacks.
- The very first thing, you must change the password your accounts.
- Report the incident.
- Keep a close eye on bank and credit card statements for transactions that you didn’t authorize to observe a warning sign of identity theft.
- Be cautious before clicking links or downloading files from dubious emails to protect yourself from future phishing attacks.
Don’t need to live in the fear as there is not a single effective method to escape from phishing attacks. But, this article’ll help you to understand the phishing attacks and how to avoid them. Follow the preceding tips to enjoy a hassle-free experience and be safe out there.