Avoiding Phishing Scams

You have almost certainly received a Phishing email. Maybe you got an email that looked like it was from your bank, telling you that there was a problem with your account. The email told you to click a link, but the link looked weird or the website it took you to was…strange looking.

Phishing emails are sent by scammers to trick you into giving them your personal information such as your bank account numbers, passwords, or credit card numbers. Emails may claim that there has been unauthorized or suspicious activity on your account. They may also ask you to verify or update your information. These emails provide you with a link that, when clicked, prompts you to provide your personal information.

These messages often look genuine. And it’s normal to panic when you think something is wrong with your bank account, so you might not be thinking clearly when you receive these messages.

It’s important to be careful when you receive messages like this if you want to keep your information safe.

How can you tell if a message is real or not? Here are some warning signs:

• The email address is a bit off. Instead of from @facebook.com, it’s from @facebook.com.au
• The message does not use your name or your name is misspelled
• There are grammatical or spelling errors in the message
• The web address isn’t quite right. Instead of directing you to Microsoft.com, it takes you to 123.478.microsoft.com
• The website is asking questions that the company should already know. Your credit card company already knows your credit card number, why would they ask you to provide it on their website?

When in doubt, type in the web address of the website you want to visit and log in. See if there is a warning message there.

According to Check Point, the top 10 brands used in phishing scams were:

1. Facebook
2. Yahoo
3. Netflix
4. PayPal
5. Microsoft
6. Spotify
7. Apple
8. Google
9. Chase
10. Ray-Ban

For more information:

• This website has great examples of phishing emails https://www.securitymetrics.com
• Were you the victim of a phishing scheme? Report to the FTC.
• Take this quiz. Can you spot a phishing email?