The online space is full of threats, and phishing attacks are becoming more frequent. For example, people follow malicious links in text messages sent to user inboxes, and sensitive information is at risk. Data breaches occur when bank account details and other valuable data fall into the hands of fraudsters. From the accounts of criminals, remove huge sums. At one time, Facebook and Google were defrauded of 100 million dollars due to several phishing attacks. Scammers are constantly evolving their methods. Phishing Attack is one of the vast security threats. How can you prevent phishing attacks? And how to protect your website from hackers?
What is a phishing scam?
It is a cyber attack during which attackers send messages posing as a trusted person or organization. Additionally, attackers attempt to steal data.
A phishing scam aims to obtain users’ information : login credentials, account information etc. To this end, cyber attackers send out spam emails and text message, try to trick users, and motivate users to follow the phishing link. In addition, clicking a malicious link by a user can provocate installing malware, disclosing confidential information, stealing money, and freeze the system. So, how to protect your data from phishing attacks?
Who is at risk of phishing attacks?
It can affect anyone and any company.
Everyone who uses Internet devices runs the risk of becoming a victim of scammers. Your data, email address, bank cards, and so on are becoming more and more difficult to protect from disclosure. Therefore, everyone needs to be as careful as possible and take care of their cyber security.
Why Are Phishing Scams So Often?
Why are phishing scams so attractive to cyber criminals? First, phishing is easy. Phishing email or text messages can steal valuable data, deliver ransomware, get sensitive data, and initiate bank transfers. It’s profitable. The use of different phishing attacks contributes to a significant enrichment of criminals. Third, the human factor is substantial. People click on phishing links, visit phishing sites inadvertently, and become victims of criminals.
The signs of phishing scams
The best defense is security awareness and the adoption of security measures to ensure that the phishing attempt fails. For example, don’t click on suspicious links, don’t open attachments, etc. Otherwise, your bank account and other valuable data will be at risk. So how do you recognize a phishing attack?
- The greeting in the message itself does not apply to you personally.
- The phishing emails contain a request to clarify personal detail etc.
- Links or URLs point to a third-party site not associated with the email’s sender.
- Elements in an email address have been changed to resemble an email address but with altered letters or numbers added.
- The message or attachment sent to your email account prompts you to set up security settings, enable macros, or install applications.
- The sender’s address does not match the signature in the message.
- The message is unwanted and unexpected. For example, you communicate with this person very rarely.
- The message contains errors. There are several random recipients in the “To” field.
- The page that opens is an image that looks like a friendly, secure site.
If you have any doubts about the security of an email, contact the company through other methods to check if they sent you messages.
The types of phishing attacks
Criminals are getting smarter. Here are the most common phishing attacks:
Spear phishing attack
It is a successful form of phishing that costs businesses at least millions of dollars a year. It is a phishing campaign that targets a specific person or group. This type of attack often involves information of interest to the target, such as financial documents.
Typically, cybercriminals who carry out this attack already have your valuable data: first and last name, email, position and place of work, etc.
Business email compromise
It is a type of spear phishing attack – with the objective being to trick employees into taking harmful actions, typically sending money to the attacker.
Email Phishing Attacks
The criminal registers under a fake domain and sends numerous emails to user inboxes. Email clients confuse these emails with messages sent from trustworthy sources and prey on cyber attackers. It is important to use the spam filter.
Angler Phishing
Scammers use fake social media account details to recieve the users’ personal information.
Whaling
It is targeting senior employees. Criminals use fake URLs to impersonate senior executives. In addition, cyber criminals can use fake tax forms to obtain valuable information, including bank account details.
Vishing and Smishing
Phishing, smishing, and vishing differ in how the scammers contact the victims — via email, text messages, or telephone. The purpose is to steal personal data or financial account information.
Cybercriminals are constantly developing their skills to deceive victims even more effectively. Fortunately, there are different ways to protect a company’s security.
How to Prevent Phishing Attacks
It is essential to understand a phishing attack to protect your data from phishing attacks.
1. Know about common phishing scams and biggest security risk
Criminals are constantly developing new methods to steal account information etc. The sooner you learn about the latest attack methods, the more likely you will prevent phishing attacks in time. In addition, companies must conduct training among employees to familiarize themselves with attackers’ techniques.
2. Two factor authentication to prevent phishing attacks
It helps protect your data from phishing attacks. And cyber criminals cannot withdraw the entire amount from your business account.
3. Free anti-phishing add-ons
Most browsers allow you to download add-ons that look for signs of a malicious website.
4. Do not click on a malicious link
Do not click on suspicious links. Instead, you should hover over the link to see if the destination is correct. Sometimes the target URL looks like an exact copy of the legitimate domain. You should be very careful! Going directly to the site through a search engine is better than following a suspicious link.
5. Change passwords periodically
If you have online accounts, you should change your passwords regularly. Your accounts may have been compromised without your knowledge, so adding an extra layer of security can prevent phishing attacks.
6. Do not give your data to an insecure site
If you don’t see the closed padlock icon next to the URL, or if the website’s URL doesn’t start with “HTTPS,” don’t enter sensitive information.
7. Don’t ignore updates
Look through the messages for updates, and take care of your safety. It is necessary to stop phishing attacks.
8. Don’t give out valuable data
If you do not fully trust the site, you should not provide information about your bank account. Make sure the website is authentic, and the security measures are followed.
9. Pop-ups
Pop-ups are often associated with attempts to install malware. However, most browsers allow you to download and install software to block ads and pop-ups.
10. Data security platform
If you are unfortunate enough to be the victim of a successful phishing attack, you need to detect and react immediately. Phishing attacks must be seen and responded to in time. The data protection platform automatically alerts you to unwanted file changes or abnormal user behavior.и
All of these methods will help you avoid phishing scams.
How to prevent phishing scams and improve cyber security
It is essential to take all precautionary measures. Attacks on user inboxes are prevalent. Cyber criminals send out phishing emails to force a person to follow a phishing link and land on a malicious website. Scammers intend to install malware, steal valuable user data and withdraw money from accounts.
Security software can prevent attackers from successfully trying. However, it is also necessary that companies conduct security awareness training and explain to their employees what phishing attacks are and what not to do so that they are not victims of scammers. All this allows you to stop phishing attacks. And if an attack occurs, law enforcement agencies must immediately intervene to identify the perpetrators. So take care of your cyber security, and don’t let scammers harm you!
FAQ
The user is redirected to a fake site like the real one. The attacker, following the page, intercepts the original password, gains access to the user’s data, and the victim loses his money.
Suddenly, when the email is poorly written, the message is sent from a public email domain, the domain name is misspelled, the email contains suspicious links or infected attachments, and the sender requires a speedy response. So take care of email security!
If you are a victim of a phishing attack, contact your IT administrator if you are on a work computer. Change the passwords , and report to the bank if the scammers got your bank account.
Phishing is a popular type of fraud today, extorting personal data from Internet users to enrich themselves. The scammers often steal user data, including credit card numbers.
A whaling attack is a phishing attack which targets high-level employees, such as a chief executive officer or financial officer, to steal confidential information from a company.
In a phishing attack, criminals trick you into getting the necessary information from you: logins and passwords and corporate information. Scammers can also infect your computers with malware.