Phishing Awareness

What is Phishing?

 

Phishing is a psychological attack used by cyber criminals to trick you into giving up information or taking an action.  This term has evolved from an email attack that would steal your password to almost any message based attack.

These attacks begin with a cyber criminal sending a message pretending to be from someone or something you know, such as a friend, your bank or a well-known store.

These messages then entice you into taking an action.  Click on the link, open an infected attachment or respond to a scam.  These messages are sent to millions of email addresses, with the hopes of a few falling prey to the scam.

These criminal also use social media and instant messaging to troll for unsuspecting victims.

What should you do?

 

·         Check for a valid email address. If you don’t know the sender, delete the email.

·         Be suspicious of emails addressed to “Dear Customer” or some other generic salutation.

·         Be suspicious of grammar or spelling mistakes.

·         Be suspicious of any email that requires “immediate action” or creates some sort of urgency.

·         Be very careful of links and only click on those that you are expecting.   

·         Be suspicious of attachments.

·         Be suspicious of messages that sound too good to be true

·         Just because you got an email from a friend doesn’t mean they sent it.  Their computer or smart phone could be infected.

 

If you are concerned about the security of your technology, give us a call.

My next blog will attempt to explain what can happen once you fall victim to an online scam.

Sam