How to recognize phishing emails
When it comes to sending out phishing emails, scammers have become more clever. However, there are some indicators you can watch for.
- Offers that are too good to be true. Phishing emails may attempt to entice you with what appear to be extremely low-cost offers on items such as smartphones or vacations. The offers may appear seductive, but you must reject them. These are almost certainly phishing emails.
- Your account details or other sensitive financial information is being requested by a bank – possibly not even your own. By email, your bank or any other financial organization will never request your Social Security number, bank account number, or PIN. Never respond to an email with this information.
- There are grammatical and spelling errors. There was a time when phishing emails were easy to recognize because they were riddled with spelling and grammar errors. Scammers have gotten better at avoiding these mistakes, but if you receive an email with a lot of typos and strange language, it could be phishing.
- The standard greeting. It’s possible that phishing emails aren’t directed to you individually. Instead, a generic greeting such as “Dear Sir or Madam” or “Dear Account Holder” could begin the email.
- An urgent cry for action. The goal of phishing is to get you to behave hastily and without thinking. To avoid having your bank account or credit card suspended, many may send emails requesting that you click on a link or transmit account information right away. Never respond to an emergency request hastily. Phishing attacks frequently use urgent pleas for action.
- You’re getting messages from people you don’t know. Consider deleting an email if you don’t recognize the sender. If you do decide to read it, avoid clicking on links or downloading files.
- You might receive a phishing email from someone you know. That email could have come from a hijacked email account you’re familiar with. It’s most likely a scam if the email asks for personal information or money.
- Hyperlinks. If you receive an email asking you to click on an unexpected URL, hovering your mouse over the option may reveal that the connection is actually leading to a phony, misspelled site. This URL has been designed to appear real, however it is most likely a phishing scam.
- Attachments. Attachments that don’t make sense or appear spammy were provided by the sender.
Read Also: Seven Tips to Avoid Online Fraud
Steps To Protect Yourself From Phishing
- Use security software to protect your PC. Set the software to automatically update so that it can handle any new security threats.
- Set your phone’s software to update automatically to keep it safe. These upgrades may provide you with vital security protection.
- Use multi-factor authentication to secure your accounts. Some accounts provide additional security by needing two or more credentials to log in. Multi-factor authentication is the term for this. There are two types of additional credentials you’ll need to log in to your account:
- Something you have, such as a passcode or a security key obtained through authentication software.
- Something about you, such as a scan of your fingerprint, retina, or face.
If scammers do gain your login and password, multi-factor authentication makes it more difficult for them to log in to your accounts.
