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What are Phishing Scams? How To Avoid Them

What are phishing scams? Phishing scams are one of the most successful and most dangerous forms of scams. They affect hundreds of millions of people around the globe each year. It is paramount to be able to identify them to keep yourself and your private information safe. This article contains all you need to know, and explains everything you need to know to keep yourself protected:

What are phishing scams?

A phishing scam is an attempt to obtain private information, usernames, emails, phone numbers, passwords, or credit card details by disguising itself as a friend, family member, or colleague. These scams are commonly, but wrongly, also called fishing scams. The reason being is the scammer is fishing for information from you. Hence the confusion about the names.

What are Phishing Scams How To Avoid Them (1)

How do they work?

The most common way is through email. The scammer will send a real looking email pretending to be someone you know and push you towards providing fake info. This is typically done by sending you to a fake website that will ask for your login details. You will attempt to log in, only to find it doesn’t work. And now, the scammers have your username and passwords. It is common practice for large companies to have their I.T department send fake phishing emails to their employees to try and catch them out. They will send an email such as “Your flight has been canceled you need to re-book” these emails will look real at first, but once opened, will just read, “You need to speak to I.T – this was a phishing email.” Companies realize just how destructive a phishing email can be for them and their employees, you should understand this too.

What to look out for?

The best way to spot a phishing email is the content. If an email asks you to confirm some of your personal information, be it directly through mail or a linked site, don’t do it. It is a scam. If the actual address seems off to you, if it looks unprofessional or unofficial, it is likely a scam. For example, would American Airlines send you an email informing you your flight is canceled from a gmail.com email address? No, it wouldn’t.

The quality of the text in an email can be a significant indicator. Does it have bad grammar, poor spelling, incorrect punctuation, and just look overall messy? Then it is probably coming from someone, from who knows where, who doesn’t speak English. Ignore emails that seem poorly written; they are usually bad news.

Lastly, don’t click links that are sent to you. It could be either a hyperlink to a dangerous URL or be a download for a virus. Never open an attachment from someone you don’t 100% trust.

Newest Phishing Scams of 2020

The most common phishing scams of 2020 are those that you need to keep an eye out for the most, as you are more likely to bump into them. There are three main ones that you must be aware of.

FAKE EMAIL’S FROM AIRLINES: How fake emails from airlines work were mentioned above, but it will be explained in more detail here. These emails will insist that you need to change your flights, cancel them, or book new ones. They will send you to a fake login page, which will ask you for your username, password, and potentially directly ask you to confirm your bank account details. Never do this. If you get one of these emails, call the airline to confirm if they are true or not.

FAKE EMAIL’S FROM CHARITIES: Another one to watch is emails from fake charities, asking you to donate. They will insist on taking a donation from you on their site, which will simply just steal the donation. They may even use existing charity names. If you get an email from the Redcross asking for money, delete the email. If you feel like donating to them, do it on their website. Not through the email.

Charities donation

What are phishing scams?

FAKE TEXT FROM APPLE: More and more people are getting iPhones, which means they have become a consistent platform for phishing texts. You may receive a text saying its from apple, providing you a hyperlink to various things. It could be a prize or asking you to confirm account details, maybe even telling you your account has been compromised. The best thing to do here is just deleting the text. Apple will never text you for any of these reasons.

Apple logo

PHISHING FOR BANK INFO: Your bank accounts are probably the most secure account you own. This means getting into them is very hard without all your details. Scammers are now trying even harder to find out what they can about your bank account. You may receive phony emails from your bank saying your account is compromised; you need to update your details. You will be taken to a link containing the scammer’s site and asked to input those details for them. They will then be stolen. Always call your bank to confirm any issues.

PHISHING FOR PAYPAL INFO: Many people use PayPal as a form of payment now. Because of its increase in popularity, and its relatively easy access, it has become a significant target. All you need for Paypal is an email address and a password. And chances are they already have the email address if they have sent you an email. Because of this, the scammers will warn you that your account has been compromised and you need to change your password. Once you try to change it through their link, they now have your password and will empty your accounts. The fake “PayPal” may text or email you with their phishing scam, never trust either.

Paypal - Phishin scams

What are phishing scams?

TotesNewsworthy Conclusion:

If you keep what this article has said in mind, you should be fine. Most phishing emails are obvious, its the ones that try hard to look real you must look out for. If you are ever unsure if an email is actual or not, assume it isn’t. It is better to be safe than sorry.

How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams

Read more  – New Car Buying Scams and How To Avoid Them

Rene Peters
Herm Peters is a travel blogger and Food Blogger.

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