How to Avoid Phishing Scams?
Your private information that you put up on the internet is at risk. You need to verify first that you are giving away your information to websites that are legit. Otherwise, you are bound to fall for a trap. One such trap is referred to as phishing where someone on the internet takes your sensitive information by using methods such as calls, emails, or by providing you a clickable link leading to questionable places on the internet. That ‘someone’ is a scammer. He poses as a legitimate person or organization, such as a bank, and asks you for your personal information which they can use to exploit you.
The information scammers get from phishing can cause financial loss and identity theft. It is considered a cybercrime. Nowadays as the whole world has access to the internet and everything on it, it is very easy to fall victim to a phishing attack. You need to be extra careful on the internet. In many cases, it has been found that children unnoticeably provide sensitive information about their parents on emails and online websites. So, not only you but everyone around you needs to know how to avoid it.
Internet service providers do offer a secure connection to your home. For instance, Ziply offers advanced security with their routers that monitor the traffic activities on your connection so they can flag the ones that seem threatening. This makes using Ziply Fiber Internet a safer option for you.
But the internet service provider can only do so much. In this article, we will discuss how by following a few simple checks you can avoid phishing attacks because it is better to be careful than to be sorry. But first, you need to know how to know when you’re being phished by someone:
Phishing: Are you being scammed?
Almost all phishing scams are generic in nature. The scammers will ask you about your sensitive information such as passwords or credit card information or bank information. They mostly do this by sending a text message or email.
Mostly the subject of the email will be such as “Your account is on hold” or “You need to update your payment method”.
The scammers even use government organizations and offer some rewards and in many cases, they will tell you that you won some prize such as a phone, and need your personal information in order to send it to you.
Be wary, these all are phishing attacks. The scammers may use even legitimate company logos and will provide you with a link to enter your information. Real companies do not provide you with an external link for your information.
How to Avoid Phishing
Here are some ways you can avoid phishing:
Update Your Antivirus
As with the rule of cyber activities. First thing you need to do is update your antivirus. You need to keep a good quality antivirus software installed on your devices and regularly update them.
Antiviruses can catch malware links and do the work for you. Everyday scammers are getting better at their job and using more complex tools for phishing. That’s why you need to regularly update the antivirus because older versions of antiviruses may not be equipped to catch such phishing attempts.
Firewall
Always keep firewall enabled in all your devices. A firewall acts as a wall between your device and the internet. It avoids interference of malware on your computer. Therefore, always keep your firewall on.
Do not Click on Pop-ups
Pop-ups are small windows that open up by themselves when you click on a website. They are mostly phishing attempts where scammers will ask you for your information. You should close them as soon as they open up. Many pop-ups open up as update your device performance. You need to close it by clicking on “x” on the top right corner, clicking on “no” or “cancel” leads to further phishing attacks.
Moreover, you need to install a pop-up blocker on your browser so these popups are stopped even before they get a chance.
Check Websites Security Certificate
Whenever you go to a website, you should check its security certificate. You can do this by clicking on the address bar. You can the security rating of the website there. A secure site has an image of a padlock whereas, the sites which aren’t secure have a triangle caution sign in the address bar before the domain name.
Personal Information
It cannot be stressed enough that you should never give out your personal information over the internet. If needed to provide personal information for bank, etc., it is better to provide it in person. Once you type anything on the internet, it can be phished if scammers have good tools. Always consider the internet to be unsafe and you will be able to avoid scams.
Conclusion
Wrapping up, in a phishing attempt, the scammer will use various methods to extract your personal information in order to cause you loss in any form. Therefore, always be careful of your online activities and always consider the internet to be unsafe and follow these simple steps to avoid becoming the target of such a scam.
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Note: Some of the information in samples on this website may have been impersonated or spoofed.