Don’t Fall Prey to Phishing Scams

In order to avoid phishing scams, you first must understand what they are and how to spot their characteristics.

Understanding the Phishing Scam

When you spend most of your time online, it helps to be well versed on all of the potential threats. A phishing scam is one of the many email messages a cybercriminal will send in an attempt to steal your money or your personal information.

What is a Phishing Scam?

A phishing scam is commonly sent in email form so the scammer can attack as many accounts as possible. At this very moment, you may have a phishing scam lurking in your inbox or junk mail. Beware! Learning how to spot these emails and harmful links can keep your money and personal information safe. Thankfully, most of these scams follow the same general format so they can become very easy to spot.

Cybercriminals will often send a phishing scam using the name of a well-known company you trust. For example, you might receive an email from your bank, local grocery store, department store, etc, but the email is actually from the scammer. Inside the email, you will find dialogue regarding your account with this supposed company and links to verify your account information. In conjunction with these links, you will also find verbiage indicating that your account might be compromised if you do not click on the link and follow the necessary steps.

The most important tool you can take away from this is don’t click on the link! The link in these phishing emails creates a bridge between you and the scammer and allows them to access your PC. If you click on the link, you are opening the door to the cybercriminal and giving him access to all of your valuable information stored on your system. This can include, but is not limited to, your personal documents, website history and bank account information.

In addition to the general verbiage, there are other warning signs you should be aware of in the phishing email. Bad grammar and misspelled words are a common attribute found in almost all types of email scams. If you receive a valid email from your bank or local store, it would not contain these types of grammatical errors. Also, you can examine the links if necessary. DO NOT click on the link, but you can scroll over it with your mouse and review the link information provided. If the link address you see when you hover over the link is not the same as the link address in the email, it might direct you to a hostile webpage.

When it comes to phishing scams, the best possible thing you can do is delete the email. If you spend most of your time online, you must ensure that you are taking the proper precautions to safeguard your computer and personal information.