Phishing emails can be spotted by looking for anything strange or inconsistent.
Phishing attempts can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from genuine messages. Before clicking through any links, or attachments, or sending a reply, you’ll want to slow down.
The following is an example of how you should react if you receive an email that seems suspect:
An email politely requests donations for victims of the most recent hurricane to make landfall. Even though the sender’s domain reads “help@ushurricanessurvivors.net”, you haven’t heard of this organization before.
This type of email usually goes into your spam folder, but for some reason, it’s sitting right at the top.
As a computer-savvy person, don’t take chances with emails from organizations that ask for personal or financial information. Especially if you did not request it and cannot verify its identity, it can be very troublesome.
A pause instead of immediate action is an effective step in protecting yourself. It is still your responsibility to determine whether this is a legitimate or fraudulent offer.
Making a decision based on a phishing email requires knowing exactly what to look for.
What does a Phishing Email look like?
Phishing emails are notorious for their sinister nature, and they’re often successful because they look legitimate. Phishing emails typically contain the following features, which raise red flags:
- Attachments or links
- Spelling errors
- Poor grammar
- Unprofessional graphics
- There is no urgent need to validate your email address or any other personal information.
- Generic salutations that exclude your name, such as “Dear Customer”.
Phishing sites are often created in a rush by hackers, so some look quite different from their original counterparts. In your inbox, you can use these traits to identify malicious emails.
However, it’s not always obvious what to do if you receive a phishing email that eluded your spam folder.
Tips for handling known Phishing Emails
Phishing emails should be spotted as soon as possible. Use these strategies to avoid becoming a victim of a phishing attack if you find one in your inbox (that hasn’t been automatically filtered into spam).
Delete the email without opening it. A virus is usually activated by clicking an attachment or clicking a link inside an email. By opening a suspicious-looking email, you can get a virus, but some email clients support scripting. The best thing to do is avoid opening them all at the same time.
Manually block the sender. It is a good idea to manually create a block in your email client if it allows you to do so. Include the sender’s domain in your blocked list after you note the sender’s email address. If you share your email box with anyone in your family, this is particularly smart and helpful. Someone else might encounter a message that appears to be legitimate but is actually spam and act inappropriately.
Purchase an extra line of security. Keeping yourself safe is something you can never do too much of. You may want to consider purchasing antivirus software to help monitor your email.
Phishing emails are best handled by blocking or deleting them immediately. No matter what additional action you take to limit your exposure to these attacks, it is a positive step.
A few additional tips can help you guard yourself in addition to spotting and removing the email.
Phishing prevention tips
Every day, you’ll be targeted by these phishing emails, whether you want to be or not.
These emails are most often automatically filtered out by our email providers, and most users are able to distinguish these types of emails and do not comply with their demands.
Although you’ve seen how deceptive phishing can be, you shouldn’t be fooled by it. Phishing attacks extend beyond emails to include all types of communication and internet browsing.
Following a few phishing prevention tips will help you reduce the chances of becoming a victim of a scam.
Steps to protect yourself from Phishing
Cybersecurity begins with your mindset and behavior towards potential threats.
Phishing scams trick victims into giving up credentials for sensitive accounts, such as email, corporate intranets, etc.
Even the most cautious users may not be able to detect a phishing attack. As these scams become more sophisticated, hackers find ways to tailor their scams and deliver very convincing messages, which can lead to people falling for them.
Here are some fundamental precautions you should take with all of your emails and other correspondence:
Before providing sensitive information, use common sense. Never click the link in an email alert that you receive from your bank or another significant organisation. Instead, open a new browser tab and enter the address into the URL field to verify the website’s legitimacy.
Never trust alarming messages. Most reputable businesses will not ask for personally identifiable information or account information via email. This includes your bank, insurance company, and any other company with which you do business. If you ever receive an email requesting account information, delete it immediately and call the company to confirm that your account is still active.
Do not open any Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF attachments in these shady or odd communications.
Avoid clicking embedded links Always check the subject line of emails because they may contain malware. Never click on embedded URLs in the original message when receiving messages from vendors or other third parties. Alternatively, go to the website directly by entering the correct URL address to confirm the request and look over the vendor’s contact rules and procedures for making information requests.
Updating your operating system and software is recommended. Ensure your security and software is up to date because Windows OS products are frequently the subject of phishing and other malicious attempts. Especially for those still using any version of Windows earlier than 10.
Reducing your spam to avoid Phishing
Here are some additional helpful hints from eScan’s Internet security experts to help you reduce the amount of spam email you receive:
Set up a private email address. Only personal correspondence should be sent using this. It’s important to try to make this address challenging for spammers to guess because they compile lists of potential email addresses by combining names, words, and numbers that are obvious to everyone. Your private address shouldn’t just be your first and last name. To protect the address, take the following steps:
- Never share your private email address on sites that have public access to the internet.
- If you must broadcast your private address electronically, try to conceal it to prevent spammers from obtaining it. For instance, spammers can easily find an address like “Joe.Smith@yahoo.com.” Instead, try writing “Joe-dot-Smith-at-yahoo.com”.
- If spammers discover your private address, you should change it. Changing your email address may be inconvenient, but it will help you avoid spam and scammers.
Set up a public email address. Use this address for posting to public forums, joining chat rooms, or signing up for mailing lists. Additionally, the following tips will help you reduce the amount of spam you receive via your public email address:
- Remember that your public address is a temporary one. Especially if you use your public address frequently on the Internet, spammers are likely to quickly get hold of it.
- Don’t be hesitant to frequently alter your public email address.
- Using multiple public addresses may be a good idea. If you do this, you will be able to track down which services may be selling your address to spammers.
Never respond to any spam. Spammers typically verify receipts and keep track of responses. It is likely that the more you respond, the more spam you will receive.
Think before you click ‘unsubscribe.’ Fake unsubscribe letters are sent by spammers in order to collect legitimate email addresses. It’s possible that clicking ‘unsubscribe’ in one of these letters will only increase the amount of spam you receive. Never click the “unsubscribe” link in emails from sources you don’t recognise.
Keep your browser updated. Ensure that your web browser is running on the most recent version and that the most recent Internet security updates have been installed.
Use spam-filtering software. Obtain email addresses only from companies that offer spam filtering. Select a security programme for your computer and the Internet that has sophisticated anti-spam features.
Internet security software’s importance versus the threat of phishing
Installing and employing appropriate Internet security software on your computer is one of the simplest methods to guard against falling for a phishing scam. Any user needs internet security software because it offers many layers of security in a single, easy-to-manage suite.
Your security plan should include the following elements for the most reliable protection:
Anti-spam software is intended to keep phishing and spam emails out of your email account. Apart from working with pre-defined deny lists created by security researchers, anti-spam software has intelligence capabilities that allow it to learn which items are junk and which are not over time. While you should remain vigilant, you will find some solace in knowing that the software is also filtering out potential problems. To protect yourself from malicious messages, instal anti-phishing and anti-spam software on your computer.
Anti-malware software is included to protect against other types of threats. Anti-malware software, like anti-spam software, is programmed by security researchers to detect even the most evasive malware. With ongoing vendor updates, the software becomes more intelligent and capable of dealing with the most recent threats. You can protect yourself from viruses, Trojans, worms, and other malware by using an anti-malware package.
When a firewall, anti-spam, and anti-malware programme are all included in one package, you can offer additional backups that prevent system compromise in the event that you do unintentionally click on a risky link. They are an essential tool to have installed on every computer you own because they are made to supplement common sense.
While technology is a quickly growing sector, you may protect your devices from phishing and other malware threats by using a protection package from a reliable security vendor.
Password management made easy
Use a password manager to handle your internet credentials in addition to installing virus protection software on your computer.
Today, it is essential to use unique passwords for every website. Malicious attackers will attempt to use the revealed credentials throughout the web if a data breach ever takes place.
Password managers typically automatically fill out login forms, which reduces the amount of time spent clicking. To ensure that you can carry your passwords with you wherever you go, several password managers also provide portable editions that can be saved to a USB drive.
Even though phishing can be challenging at times, by heeding the straightforward suggestions and guidance offered in this article (and embracing appropriate phishing prevention technologies)
— You can significantly reduce your danger of falling for online scams.
If you are in need of a full internet security package try eScan Internet Security Suite.
