Want to know more about how to protect yourself from the acts of scammers in the digital age? Let's talk more about one of the most common malicious acts you'll encounter: Phishing.
What is phishing?
Phishing scams are a technique that uses platforms you trust against you. Imagine you go to a store that looks exactly like an establishment you've been to before, but after you check out you realize it was an imitation created to steal your credit card information.
You'll encounter this type of scam mostly commonly via email and text messages. Here are some things a phishing email might say to attempt to draw you in:
Your account has been compromised. Scammers will try to use fear to make you act quickly without verifying the source.
There's a problem with your order. You may ask yourself "did I order this?" You didn't. They're trying to play on your curiosity or present a fake charge with a large sum of money to prompt you to act.
You need to update your information. Sometimes this will be paired with the threat of account deletion or suspension.
You've won something for free. Everyone likes free things, but in these cases they are using the promise of a prize to lure you into handing over valuable information.
How can I protect myself?
Verify the address of the sender. Typically there will be misspellings or the email will come from a suspicious domain such as an @iCloud account.
Scrutinize emails using generic greetings. These types of scams are spread on a massive scale and without having previous information about you will need to keep the wording as generic as possible so it can be spread over a wide audience.
Avoid answering requests for personal information from sources you are unsure of. Reputable organizations will never ask for your sensitive information, for example credit card info or your social security number, in a channel that is as insecure as an email or a text.
Double check before acting when threatened. Scammers prey on fear and use it as a tool to push you to the next step. When dealing with these kind of threats realize that they can only work if you let them. When a scammer sends out a malicious email or a text they are casting as wide of a net as possible. They'll never follow up on an individual who chose to ignore them, as they'll be focusing their efforts on those who took the initial bait.
This has been a brief summary of the increasingly common scam known as phishing. If you have any further questions feel free to reach out or respond on any of our socials and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Lighthouse Technology Solutions
Comments