Types of Bait and How To Recognize It
Phishing is a common Internet scam that affects employees all over the world. Based on the much-more-fun activity of fishing, the word “phishing” refers to an activity where scammers bait or lure victims.
We wish we were writing about fishing.
One of the reasons why phishing is so unfortunately effective is because of how convincing it can appear. Messages are addressed to you with your name, the language in the messages implies that they are familiar with your needs, and some scammers even reply to you personally, building what you may think is a sincere or genuine conversation. These exchanges slowly let your guard down and helps scammers gain your trust. However, being too vulnerable with scammers will have severe consequences including access to personal information.
Phishing, Vishing, and its Other Relatives
According to Webroot.com, there are 11 types of phishing. Here are four common types:
Phishing - An attack to steal sensitive data via email.
Smishing - An attack to steal sensitive data via SMS, or text.
Vishing - Short for “voice phishing”, vishing refers to scam callers posing as a government agency, tech support, or an organization. They attempt to extract personal information via phone calls or voice messages.
Pharming - A type of phishing that redirects the legitimate web traffic to a spoofed page without the user’s knowledge. This affects the DNS (Domain Name System).
Ensuring the security of your email, whether it is personal or professional, is imperative to your confidential data. Here are some quick ways on protecting yourself.
Avoid clicking on hyperlinks sent by unfamiliar emails or phone numbers. These links can often be harmful to your device or email account. Instead, ask your IT department to verify the source of the message and evaluate the risk. If it is a personal email, avoid clicking the hyperlink at all and simply delete the message.
Look for grammatical or spelling errors. Many of these phishing emails are automated or sent from foreign countries. This step is often overlooked as most readers tend to skim messages quickly.
If you must, find your own links. If you suspect a message is legitimate but aren’t totally sure, and it is telling you to take action, open a new window and go through the process yourself. For example, a text message comes in telling you that your debit account has been hacked and you must change your banking PIN immediately by clicking on a link they provide. Do not click on the link; instead, change the PIN directly on the bank’s official website.
Be wary when answering phone calls. Even Caller IDs can be faked easily with new technology, so the caller’s number on your phone could be fake. Avoid providing private information unless you confirm this legitimacy of the caller.
