Phishing Attacks: How To Avoid And Protect Yourself

Phishing, pronounced like “fishing,” is a new form of online piracy used by hackers to steal personal financial information. That’s precisely what these crooks are doing: “fishing” for your personal financial information.

Description of Phishing

Phishing, also referred to as “fishing,” is an online scam whereby malicious websites claim to be trustworthy in obtaining personal information from you, including passwords, bank account details, and credit card data. In a phony message that links to a phishing website, cybercriminals usually pose as respectable businesses, friends, or acquaintances.

One kind of scam is phishing. To steal or make unavailable personal information, scammers pose as trusted senders and transmit communications (typically emails, but they can also be phone calls or SMS).

According to recent statistics, phishing attempts typically entail a worker falling for a fake email that has an attachment or a link. When an employee opens the attachment or clicks on the link, they are usually redirected to a website where they are prompted to enter personal information (such as their username and password) or are asked to install harmful software on their computer. After that, the con artist frequently tries to access the worker’s device and accounts.

These phishing emails frequently mimic the format of the company or person the fraudster is posing to make them appear authentic. Phishing emails have occasionally even been sent using the email address of a different VPS employee whose email account has been stolen.

When a con artist obtains your information through phishing, they frequently utilize it for more fraudulent schemes. The con artist could:

Try to access the data you have stored on your device;

Pilfer money from you or other employees of the company you work at; or
Try to send more phishing efforts to your contacts via email, maybe by pretending to be you.
These two phishing attempt examples illustrate the range of techniques scammers employ as well as the possible consequences.

Example One

Robert and Jennifer are employed at Victorian Water, a VPS company. Jennifer’s Victorian Water email address appeared to be the sender of an email that Robert received.

The email said, “Hey Robert, click this link to view the year’s financial statements.” After Robert opened the link, a website requested his Victorian Water Office365 account and password for him to read the document.

Since the scammer had already gained access to Jennifer’s Victorian Water Office365 account in this instance, they were able to make more phishing attempts purporting to be from Jennifer.

Robert was taken to a fraudulent website created by the con artist when he clicked on the link in the email. The scammer obtained this data by having Robert input his Victorian Water Office365 username and password.

Afterward, the con artist continued the deception by using this information to access Robert’s Office 365 account at Victorian Water, read all the documents at his disposal, and send further phishing emails using Robert’s Victorian Water email address.

Example Two

Robert is employed by Victorian Water, a VPS company. An email purporting to be from a local business that Robert regularly works with was received by Robert.

There was no text in the email, only a PDF file. Robert opened the PDF out of curiosity to see what was within. This resulted in the installation of a malicious application on Robert’s computer.

The malicious software established a rule in Robert’s Outlook email client that directed emails containing the terms “invoice” or “credit card” from Robert’s email account to the con artist.

For three months, Robert was not aware of this regulation. The rule sent the scammer more than 300 emails from Robert’s email account over three months.

The emails included financial data that Victorian Water’s clients owned, which the con artist might attempt to use for other purposes.

Ways to recognize a phishing scam

The most effective phishing emails are skillfully designed to mimic communications from reputable senders or businesses. It’s frequently challenging to tell these communications apart from actual emails. When checking your mailbox for phishing scams, be aware of these warning signs:

Alluring, Seemingly Unrealistic Offers: If an email seems too good to be true, it most often is. These alluring offers are meant to catch your eye right away and draw your focus away from other information in the letter. Check the sender’s identity or simply disregard the communication if it offers you a sizable quantity of money, a new phone, a trip, a car, or other prizes.
False Sense of Urgency: If an email asks you to respond right away or offers a brief chance that, if missed, will have serious, unfavorable consequences, give it some thought and take your time reading and comprehending the content. Reputable companies, including the government, won’t send you an email threatening to take action against you if you don’t follow the messaging rules. Never reply to these emails or utilize the contact details contained in the message; instead, get in touch with the sender’s company directly to discuss the email message using a verified phone number.
False Hyperlinks: Verify that any websites or links included in an email that seem suspicious lead to a secure website. You can also go straight to the organization’s website that you are familiar with rather than clicking on email links. Link manipulation is a popular technique employed by phishing scammers, in which a malicious URL is introduced to appear as though it is from the company sending the email. These phony URLs frequently use misspellings to trick you. In other cases, the bogus link will appear as a text box with the words “Click Here.” Make sure you are hovering over the text box to see the full URL.
Corrupt Attachments: Never open an attachment from a dubious email without first verifying the documents’ authenticity with the sender. Attachments in phishing emails typically include harmful viruses or ransomware, much like hyperlinks do.

Avert phishing schemes:

Even though technology and fraud techniques are always evolving, there are a few easy preventive measures you can take to keep yourself secure from phishing. Try the following actions to identify phishing attempts:

Use spam filters when sending emails.
Never email financial or personal information without following the correct security procedures.
Never reply to emails requesting personal information.
To find out if a message you received is authentic, give the sender a call.
Verify the security of the website you are visiting. When a website is secure, look for a lock icon or an address that starts with “https://.”

WHAT ACTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR ORGANISATIONS TO TAKE TO PREVENT PHISHING ATTACKS?

Integrate security awareness into the ethos of your company.

ItVPS staff will be better equipped to recognize phishing attempts and their warning indications, which will make them less likely to fool you. Alternatively, they will be able to alert you to a problem and take prompt action to contain it.

To prevent fraudulent emails from getting to VPS staff, use secure email gateways or spam filters.

Secure email gateways and spam filters keep an eye out for unsolicited or fraudulent information in incoming emails. They stop them from ever getting to the inbox of a VPS employee after they’ve been discovered.

Enable policies for anomalous logins and multifactor authentication (MFA).

These steps improve your capacity to identify and react to events quickly, even if an employee gives information to a fraudster. They also make it harder for a scammer to access an employee’s work account.

ACTIONS THAT EMPLOYEES CAN TAKE TO PREVENT PHISHING ATTACKS?

Beware of phony attachments or URLs.

Get in touch with your IT team if you believe an email to be a phishing effort. Avoid clicking any links, opening any attachments, and forwarding the email to another device.

Never give information to sources that cannot be confirmed.

Consult your privacy officer or the IT staff if you are not sure if you should be giving your information. If the sender of the email seems familiar but the contents seem out of the ordinary or suspicious, give them a call at the number you already have on file to be sure they sent the message.

Notify your IT department immediately if you get a phishing email.

Cut off your internet connection right away and let your IT team know if you believe you have fallen for a phishing effort or see any unusual behavior on your device. Avoid turning off or restarting your device.

How to Keep Yourself Safe

Never, whether by phone or online, divulge your personal information in response to an unwelcome inquiry. Phishing attempts can create emails and websites that seem just like the real thing. They might even be using a spoof padlock icon, which is typically used to indicate a secure website. You shouldn’t have shared any information if you didn’t start the conversation.

Get in touch with the banking institution directly if you think the contact might be authentic. Your banking institution’s monthly statements contain phone numbers and websites. Alternatively, you can look for the business online or in a phone book. The most important thing is that you should be the one to make contact, using your own verified contact details.

Your password should never be given up over the phone or in response to an unauthorized online request. You would never be asked to confirm your account details online by a financial institution. Even the phony padlock icon, which is typically used to indicate a safe website, can be present. Information should not be shared if you did not start the conversation.

Make direct contact with the financial institution if you think the contact could be authentic. The monthly statements you get from your financial institution usually include phone numbers and websites. You may also look for the company in a phone book or online. It is important that you use contact details that you have independently verified and that you take the lead in initiating communication.

Never give out your password to someone on the phone or in response to an unwelcome request on the Internet. Never would a financial institution ask you to check the details of your account online.

Take your gadget off the internet.

Removing the device from the internet reduces the possibility of malware infecting other devices on the same network. It will also prevent someone from sending private information through your device or gaining remote access to it. You must take immediate action to safeguard all of your devices.

On each of your accounts, change the password.

The attacker may now have access to your login credentials if you followed a link that led to a phony website where you tried to log in. This kind of phishing assault deceives victims into believing they are on a reputable website, such as your bank account or a social media platform. Attackers could then use the information you entered into the phony website to access your other accounts if you use the same credentials or variants of the same credentials.

It’s crucial to make sure your credentials are always protected using strong, one-of-a-kind passwords since doing so can stop the attacker from doing more damage to your accounts. You’re making it simpler for the attacker to access all of your accounts if you use the same login and password for each.

Watch your credit report for any unusual activities.

It’s critical to keep an eye on it because there’s a chance the attacker has access to your credit card accounts or sensitive data that they could use to obtain credit. You might even think about a credit freeze. An attempt to stop the attacker from opening additional accounts in your name can be aided by a credit freeze.

Make contact with the organization or individual that the attacker was impersonating.

Notifying the company of an imposter’s guise is crucial to preventing harm to not just you but also the organization, its clients, and staff. They could also be able to provide you with advice on how to protect the data on your account.

Report the attempted phishing attack

A phishing text message can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission by sending it to SPAM (7726). Online, you can also report the phishing attempt.

How to Combat Identity Theft

Never give your personal financial information over the phone or online to someone you did not start contact with, including your Social Security number, account number, or password. Never click on the link that appears in an email that seems dubious. It can be contaminated by a virus that infects your computer.

An email or caller threatening severe repercussions if you fail to submit or validate financial information right away should not be taken as intimidation. Use a page you have previously bookmarked or enter the website address directly to visit the company’s website if you think the contact is authentic, rather than clicking on the link supplied in the email.

Protect yourself right away if you become the target of an assault. Make sure your bank knows. Set up credit file fraud alerts. Observe your account statements and credit files.

Contact federal authorities if you get any strange emails or calls.

Conclusion

Criminals seek passwords, Social Security numbers, account numbers, and other private information that criminals can use to steal from your bank account or charge your credit cards excessively. In an extreme scenario, identity theft may claim you as a victim. These criminals can apply for credit cards, loans, driver’s licenses, and other credit products in your name using the private information they manage to gain through a successful phishing scam. It can take years for them to undo the harm they cause to your financial history and reputation. You can end this crime, though, if you know how phishing operates and how to defend yourself.