In today’s article, we will cover phishing scams and how to recognise them. The first phishing attack occurred around the year 1995, over 27 years ago, and today it is still remains as one of the most infamous methods of creating cybercrime victims.
What is a ‘phishing’ scam?
Before you are able to recognise a phishing scam, first you need to know what one is.
A phishing scam can be in the form of an email, SMS text (smishing) or a phone call that is designed to deceive the victims. Typically, the objective of these scams is to make you visit a maliciously constructed URL (link) that will download malware onto your computer and/or steal vulnerable personal information.
How do I protect myself from these scams?
Here are a few checks that you can perform to check if an email or text is legitimate, or a phishing attack.
DO NOT click any links
First and foremost, if you are even the slightest unsure whether an email is real or a phishing attack, then don’t click any website links as they may contain malware to damage your device or steal personal information.
Check the sender email address
Let us use Amazon as a prime example. If you receive an email from amazon, the email address should end in:
- amazon.co.uk
- amazon.com
- amazon.ie (Ireland)
- amazon.fr (France)
If the email address is or resembles this “[email protected]”, then you should immediately do two things:
Report the email as spam
Delete the email
How are you being addressed?
When real companies email you from their legitimate email address, they will address you by your full name that you have given them.
If you’ve ever read a spam email or attempted phishing email it usually reads along the lines of:
Dear Sir/Madam, I am contacting you in regards to…
These are generic titles and tell-tale signs of an illegitimate phishing attack.
How do certain companies contact you?
It’s worth making a note of how a certain company usually contacts you. In most cases, it will email, SMS text or phone call or a combination of the three.
If you’re contacted in an unusual way, and you feel even the slightest bit concerned, then trust your gut instinct and back away from that contact. It’s also worth contacting that company in regards to the information received.
However…
If you were unlucky enough to fall for the phishing scam, you need to take immediate action. Here’s how:
If the link you clicked on prompted you to enter certain account details, then you need to immediately change the password for that account to revoke the scammer’s access.
If you were prompted to enter your debit/credit card details, then immediately lock that card to prevent any transactions from occurring. You can do this within the mobile banking, online banking, by telephone or by going directly to your local branch.
We at Solent Way Computers can help you!
If any of the two scenarios above sound similar, or they have tricked you into downloading malware (malicious software) onto your device, then we are more than happy to help you!
Please phone 01329 535 001, email [email protected], or visit our workshop directly at Unit 1, Fareham Innovation Centre, 4 Meteor Way, Lee-on-the-Solent, Hampshire, PO13 9FU and our technicians will be happy to inspect your device for any potential malware and remove it from your system to prevent further complications, we will also advise on the many types of scams and how you can avoid them.
Thanks for reading!
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