While many of us have been the victim of phishing, how many understand what it is? While you may think of yourself as safe, think again, and read on.
How does phishing work?
Phishing (pronounced fishing) is a cyber attack in which your email is the weapon, and your data is at risk. The idea is to trick you into believing that an email you received is safe; you will think that you know who the sender is, that it comes from a well-known company, or that it contains something that you are expecting or that you want. Inside the mail, there could be a link, or you may be asked to download an attachment. Once you click, you are doomed.
How to recognize it?
Remember that these hackers are professionals. They will try to imitate the email address of someone or some company well known to you. You need to be attentive and look for any detail, and if there is any doubt, ask your peers or simply delete it.
The victims may be tricked into signing in to some fake versions of very popular websites. You may be asked to confirm your personal information for whatever reason, or your information is lost or damaged for example. They may even pretend to be from the fraud department of some well-known company and inform you that they need to verify your credentials because they suspect that you may be the victim of “ID theft”! Hackers are very bold and imaginative.
This masquerade first appeared in the mid-90s and is still one of the most widely used methods today. However, technics are becoming alarmingly sophisticated. Hackers use many different ways to target these emails, sometimes the emails are not targeted to just one but are sent to millions of potential victims at once.
Why do they do it?
There are various reasons for this scam. The hacker will try to fraudulently acquire a password, or your bank or credit card details. Indeed, phishing comes from fishing, as fishing for information! Money, however, is not all they want!
Phishing is no less than identity theft; the hacker will be after your personal information to access your accounts or to commit some crime while using your credentials. The most common goals include financial theft, medical theft, and character identity theft.
If you suspect that you have been the victim of such crime, do not waste a moment, and call us at OnePointSync Tech support. Let our expert guide you towards protecting yourself against phishing and other scams.
