Phishing Scams: How To Identify And Avoid Them?

Phishing is a type of online scam or fraudulent practice where the victim is tricked into giving away sensitive information like passwords, card numbers, login credentials, and other personal data. These days, many people fall victim to cunning phishing attacks due to unawareness and negligence. Some might have received suspicious emails or messages requesting sensitive information. Well, this could be a trap and one might end up losing money and other personal information.

Phishing scams are the most significant threat and they are very common. It happens to be the most prevalent type of cybercrime according to authentic sources, over 3.4 billion phishing emails are sent daily. Being unaware of these scams can put personal and financial data at risk. So this article will help understand and identify phishing scams. You will also learn about types of phishing and how to tackle and prevent them. So, keep reading. 

What are phishing scams?

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack that manipulates an individual to gain access without the user’s knowledge. This type of online attack is mainly carried out through emails, instant messages, or text messages. It refers to an attempt to steal sensitive information like passwords, usernames, bank account information, credit card numbers, and more. The attacker sends legitimate messages impersonating a trusted entity, such as an internet service provider, bank, or mortgage provider.

The message comes with a link to a malicious website, which asks the victim to click the attachment or link. Once the victim clicks the link, the attacker will be able to access the sensitive information. Phishing attacks can cause devastating consequences for the individual, resulting in identity theft, unauthorized purchases, and loss of access to photos, videos, and other files. As for the organizations, it can cause serious financial losses, damage to reputation, loss of customer trust, and declining market share. 

Since phishing scams are common these days, it is necessary to educate ourselves on the latest phishing tactics, prevention methods, and best practices to stay safe in the digital world. It is a cybercrime that has a serious penalty when caught. The most common industries targeted by phishing include financial services, technology, healthcare, government, and education. The main phishing tactics are sending fake email sender addresses, posing urgent or threatening messages, requesting sensitive information, malicious attachments or links, and spoofing legitimate websites or logos. 

Also Read: Most Common Cybersecurity Threats And How Hackers Exploit Them

Types of phishing  

The types of phishing include:

Email phishing

Email phishing is a fraud and deceptive email that seems to be from a legitimate company. This type of attack sends malicious emails to trick users into sharing information. Its main goal is to steal personal information like credit card numbers, login credentials, bank account information, and corporate trade secrets. 

Whale phishing

Whaling phishing is a type of cybercrime that targets high-level executives, such as CEOs and CFOs. It often targets high-profile individuals within an organization and commits fraudulent financial transactions. The term “whale” signifies the financial gain if the scam is successful. The attackers pose as a trusted organization with legitimate authority and they may request information that will help them gain access to sensitive areas of the passwords, network, and other user information. It might take weeks or months for the attackers to execute the plan to gain the victim’s trust. 

Spear phishing

Spear phishing often targets a specific person or group, such as a company’s system administrator. This practice includes sending trustworthy emails from a known or trusted sender to induce the targeted individual or group to reveal confidential information.  

Smishing

Smishing is a type of fraud that uses text messages to trick people into sharing sensitive information, using fake emails and websites. The word “smishing” is a combination of SMS and phishing and this cyber attack uses the information to commit identity theft, redirect payment to themselves, or empty bank accounts. To execute the attack, the attacker may send a message that appears to be from a delivery service, demanding payment before delivery can be completed, or a text message from the bank, asking you to click on a link to verify a recent suspicious charge. 

Vishing

Vishing is a type of phishing where the attacker uses phone calls or voice messages to steal information. The scammers may represent themselves as legitimate organizations or center professionals. They might also spoof numbers that belong to real companies to steal sensitive information like financial details including bank account numbers and passwords. These types of scammers might announce that the victim won a cash prize and that they need to provide additional information to claim the prize. 

Angler phishing

Angler phishing is a new type of cybercrime that targets social media users. The attacker lures users by disguising themselves as a customer service agent on social media to obtain personal information or account credentials. 

Pharming

Pharming is a type of phishing that uses malicious code to redirect users to fake websites. The code runs in the background of the victim’s computer and does not require clicking on a link to reply to an email. Pharming attacks often include requesting personal data, claiming that the payment had failed, or offering tax refunds.  

Trap phishing

Trap phishing is where the attackers lure victims into clicking malicious links or opening infected attachments by impersonating a known entity and providing false information. This type of phishing differs from traditional phishing as it leverages the trust between the recipient and the person or brand the recipient knows by pretending to be that entity. 

HTTPS phishing  

HTTPS phishing involves sending the victim an email with a link to a fake website. Here, the attackers pretend to be a trustworthy website and use the HTTPS protocol to trick the victims into sharing sensitive information. The attackers create fake HTTPS sites that look convincing and legitimate to steal data and personal information. 

Phishing Scams: How to identify and Avoid them?

Phishing scams are prevalent these days which is why one should stay vigilant to identify and prevent them. It can come in any form: emails, links, instant messages, or text messages. So, we should take measures not to fall victim to this cybercrime. 

Here are some ways to identify and avoid them:

• Look for unusual greetings like “Hello, sir” or “Dear Account Holder”.
• Spelling or grammatical errors are very common in phishing emails. Be wary of typos and awkward phrasings.
• Always verify the sender’s information. 
• Creating urgency in the tone to rush one into clicking links is one of the tactics of phishing.
• Providing unbelievable offers. We should be careful of the emails that provide offers on products or services that seem too good to be true. 
• Look out for unfamiliar senders. Also, delete emails from unknown senders without clicking anything.   
• Avoid clicking links from unverified sources. If you clicked on a link by chance, change your password immediately.
• Block or close pop-ups. Many browsers allow you to block pop-ups to prevent them from showing up on your screen.
• Use anti-phishing tools to detect and block phishing emails, websites, and other phishing activities. 
• Opt for stronger passwords. Use complex and unique passwords for all accounts and ensure that two-factor authentication is enabled. 
• Never share sensitive information or data like login details with anyone even if it is a customer agent.
• Use security software by installing antivirus programs, firewall programs, and spam filters to protect against phishing attacks. 
• Be careful regarding the links, see the actual URL before clicking it, and avoid opening attachments if they look suspicious. 
• Monitor accounts regularly. 
• Keep software and browsers up to date.
• Avoid using public wi-fi for sensitive activities since it increases the risk of losing personal information. 
• Do not provide sensitive information via phone or email. 
• Enable account alerts and notifications. 
• Report suspicious activities immediately. 
• Most of all, educate yourself regarding phishing scams and tactics. 

Read More: Gmail’s AI Hack Scare: Security Warning For 2.5 Billion Users

Conclusion   

Phishing is an online scam that targets almost all sectors of the economy. It can cause serious financial losses and leakage of personal information. This fraudulent practice tricks the victims into giving away sensitive information like passwords, card numbers, login credentials, and other personal data. It happens to be a common and prevailing cybercrime, so it is important to stay alert.

This activity manipulates an individual by gaining access to their passwords, usernames, bank account information, credit card numbers, and more without their knowledge. Phishing is often carried out through emails, instant messages, or text messages. The attacker impersonates a trusted entity or organization and sends legitimate messages, which come with a link to a malicious website, asking the victim to click the attachment or link.

When the victim clicks the link, the attacker will be able to access the sensitive information. This causes huge consequences like identity theft, financial loss, unauthorized purchases, damage to reputation, lack of customer trust, and loss of access to photos, videos, and other files. The different types of phishing include email phishing, whale phishing, spear phishing, smishing, vishing, angler phishing, pharming, trap phishing, and HTTPS phishing.

One should educate themselves regarding these types of phishing and their tactics to stay safe in the digital world. Since this kind of attack can come in any form like emails, links, instant messages, or text messages, we should look for unusual greetings, spelling or grammatical errors, and urgency in the tone. One should always verify the sender’s information before opening or clicking any link or replying to an email.

Also, anti-phishing tools can help detect and block phishing emails, websites, and other activities. Go for stronger passwords and never share sensitive information or data with anyone. Take measures and be vigilant regarding this type of scam to prevent financial and personal loss.