
After entering your credentials on the page that appears, you are usually sent to the actual institution to enter your information a second time.The alert will say there is a problem with your account and ask you to confirm your login and password. Here’s the catch: this site is actually designed to steal your information.
When you click the link in the email, you are taken to a webpage that looks, more or less, like your bank.
You open your email and suddenly an alert from your bank appears in your inbox. By that logic, you must be on guard at all times which can be exhausting. These schemes may urge you to open an attachment, follow a link, fill out a form, or reply with personal info. This could be anything from a social media login, to your entire identity via your social security number. In other words, these social engineering schemes “bait” you with trust to get your valuable information. By pretending to be a person or organization you trust, they can more easily infect you with malware or steal your credit card information. Phishing persuades you to take an action which gives a scammer access to your device, accounts, or personal information. What should I do to avoid being a victim of phishing?. What do I do once I’ve identified a phishing email?. Am I at risk of being a phishing target?. If you so much as click a link, you could be the scammer’s next victim.Īs we dive into how to prevent phishing, we’ll answer some important questions: Sometimes these scams hide behind voices you know and trust, like your coworkers, your bank, or even your government. Plus, cybercriminals have become even savvier with their disguises. Because scams are nothing new on the web, but phishing is harder to spot than you might think.Īcross the web, phishing attacks have baited unsuspecting victims into handing over bank info, social security numbers, and more. Since you will likely be exposed to a phishing attack eventually, you’ll need to know the red flags. Some are even personalized specifically for you. We’ve learned to dodge spam emails, but phishing emails can look deceivingly credible. Phishing prevention has become essential as more criminals turn towards online scams to steal your personal information.