We all know what a difference digital technology has made to our business and personal lives. In fact, many of us spend hours a day online for both work and leisure reasons. We do everything online from the business accounts and marketing through to communicating with friends and family, accessing entertainment, and even doing the weekly shopping.
While there are undoubtedly many wonderful benefits that have come with digital technology. However, you also have to look at the problems that have been created by that same technology. This includes issues such as online fraud, identity theft, and scams like phishing, all of which have become very common. This is why you need to educate yourself and learn about best practices when it comes to protecting yourself.
How to Prevent Against Phishing and Spoofing: Top Tips
It is important to familiarize yourself with how to protect against problems such as phishing and spoofing, as these can cause huge problems if you fall victim to the scams. So, here are ten simple phishing prevention best practices tips that can help you:
1. Email links: Make sure you do not click on links that are in random emails and pop-ups, as these could take you to a false website. You may even believe the website is bona fide, such as your bank or PayPal account, but it may be a very clever fake site designed to obtain your details. Instead, always use your browser to go onto the sites.
2. Training: You need to make sure you train your employees or other members of your household about the dangers of these scams. This will stop them from clicking on links in emails that could be phishing scams.
3. Stopping threats: You can also reduce the risk of falling victim to this sort of activity by stopped the emails before they even reach the inboxes of employees. You can do this by buffering the emails with the use of a cloud-based email service.
4. Spoofing protection: It is important that you have spoofing protection for your domain name on top of phishing protection for incoming emails, as this will prove vital in terms protecting your reputation.
5. Use the right technology: You can get anti-phishing technology to protect yourself and your system these days. You should find a suitable one that not only checks embedded email links but also carries out checks/provides notifications in real time. Protection should be for all of your devices not just your computer.
6. Stay up to date: It is important to remember that technology changes on a continual basis, and this means that scammers also change their tactics. With this in mind, you should stay up to date with how these scams operate.
7. Make sure your browser is up to date: It is important to ensure your browser is always up to date, as this will then ensure that any anti-phishing software toolbars used with the browser are also up to date.
8. Don’t be tempted by pop-up windows: You also need to be wary of pop-up windows, which sometimes may appear to be part of a website. In many cases, they are simply attempts at phishing, so don’t just automatically click on them.
9. Make sure you use good anti-virus software: It is important to ensure that you have good anti-virus software in place to protect not only against phishing attacks but also other malicious attacks.
10. Don’t be fooled by email content: Phishing emails are designed to deceive, and the content could be anything from asking you to update your bank account details to telling you that you’ve won a huge amount of cash. Never simply click on a link because the email tells you to – always use your browser to access important sites like bank and other accounts.
All of these phishing prevention tips can prove invaluable. With phishing attack prevention being vital these days, it is important to familiarize yourself with these preventing phishing attacks best practices.
How Can You Identify a Phishing Email?
Many phishing emails will contain the same sort of content, which includes a link to the site they want you to click on and content that asks you to do something such as update your details or provide your details. However, you may notice that there is a slight difference in terms of the sender’s address compared to the real company. You may also find that there are many errors within the body of the email such as spelling and grammatical errors. To be on the safe side, never click on the link in any random email or pop-up. Simply use your browser to access the site to ensure it is the real deal and not a fake site.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).