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Everyone is susceptible to a phishing attack. Often, phishing emails are well-crafted and take a trained eye to spot the genuine from the fake. There are, however, ways to make yourself less of a target. Keep in mind our ten top tips to stay safe online. 1. Name of sender can trick you.Email addresses and domain names can be easily spoofed. It is, therefore, crucial that you check the domain name for spelling alterations on suspicious emails. Even if they appear to have come from a trusted sender, always double check. 2. Check for typos.Attackers are often less concerned about being grammatically correct. Which means that typos and spelling errors are often evident in messages. Such errors in an email could be a good indication that the message is not genuine. Any email that asks for sensitive information about you or your company is suspicious. For instance, no bank will ever ask for personal information over an email. Directly call your bank to ascertain if an email is genuine or not. 4. Don’t fall for URGENCY!Phishing attacks use scare tactics such as urgency and authority to trick victims into taking immediate action. Emails that ask to share personal information or to make cash transactions are… ‘phishy’. Read KrebsonSecurity article here, to learn about a specific Apple iPhone attack via a simple text message. 5. Hover but don’t click.Hover over URLs. If the alt text does not match the display text, or if it seems strange, DO NOT click on it. 6. Attachments can be dangerous.Hover over attachments to check for an actual link, before you click on it or download it. But, if you are still unsure of the sender, do not click on the link. 7. Is it too good to be true?If it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is! Phishing attacks use fake rewards to tempt victims to take action. You wouldn’t win a lottery if you never participated. 8. Keep your devices up to date.Devices, and the applications on them, are more susceptible to attacks when systems are not updated. Read our blog here for a specific example on an Office 365 account compromise. Maintain your antivirus and regularly check for updates. 9. Regularly check your accounts.Check your accounts regularly to ensure that no changes have been made without your knowledge. Staying on top of your accounts, and knowing what data is held in each, will make spotting a phishing attack easier. 10. When in doubt, call out.If you suspect that the security of your work device or data has been compromised, inform your cyber security team or your manager immediately.
Don’t Risk Losing your Life Savings to Scammers. Follow these 10 Tips to Identify a Phishing Email.Whether you run a Fortune-500 organization or a small boutique, by now you should be aware of the threats posed by cyber criminals to trick you into clicking a link, downloading an attachment, or parting ways with your money. Modern day email scams are getting more sophisticated, leading to staggering losses for businesses of all sizes. According to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, phishing was used in 93% of all reported breaches, with email being the main attack vector in 96% of reported cases. While these figures are staggering, they continue to rise as scammers reap huge payouts from BEC (Business Email Compromise), CEO fraud and other phishing scams. The real estate industry is a prime target for phishing because large sums of money change hands and there are various weak links in the transaction process. If any step within the transaction process becomes compromised with a successful phishing email, the attacker could gain access to a legitimate email address from which to launch other attacks. The fraudster could then lie in wait, scanning email messages for financial or transaction related details, and then send off fraudulent wire transfer instructions to an unsuspecting buyer, seller, or agent. For example, this happened to a 31 year-old first-time home buyer in San Antonio, Texas. You can read details about this case here, but the short version of the story is that she felt that she was in a time crunch to send in her down payment and finalize other closing tasks, and felt that the title company was dragging its feet. This state of high anxiety made her a prime target for a phishing email she received stating that she had previously been given the wrong wire transfer information, and that she needed to wire her down payment to a new account. With 5 hours left to get everything done, she attempted to contact her title company to confirm the change, but no one responded, so in a panic, she hastily ran to the bank and wire transferred her $52,000 down payment. Unfortunately, she sent her life savings to scammers. The phishing industry is so lucrative for scammers because the barriers to entry are low relative to potential huge payouts. With botnets-for-hire and Malware as a Service (Maas), spammers have an impressive arsenal of tools at their disposal to propagate their campaigns, so to fight this scourge, an educated user is the best defense against phishing scams. With this in mind, here are my top 10 tips on how to identify and protect yourself from phishing attacks.
While anti-spam and anti-malware tools are quite effective at filtering out the majority of scams, there’s really no substitute for good old-fashioned user education. Know the potential costs to your business and don’t become the next victim! If you’re the MDaemon or SecurityGateway administrator and need help with your security settings to help block as much phishing as possible before it reaches your users, give us a call or drop us an email support request. Tags: Email How To, Email Security, Cybersecurity, Stop Spam Email, Spear Phishing, Phishing, Email Security Best Practices Written by Brad WyroBrad has worked in technical and marketing roles at MDaemon Technologies, where he contributes as Content Marketing Manager. Brad balances technical and creative information to develop easy to understand videos and content to educate prospects and customers. What are 3 signs of a phishing email?What are the key signs of a phishing email?. An unfamiliar greeting.. Grammar errors and misspelled words.. Email addresses and domain names that don't match.. Unusual content or request – these often involve a transfer of funds or requests for login credentials.. Urgency – ACT NOW, IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED.. What are the 5 signs of a phishing email?5 ways to detect a phishing email – with examples. The message is sent from a public email domain. No legitimate organisation will send emails from an address that ends '@gmail.com'. ... . The domain name is misspelt. ... . The email is poorly written. ... . It includes suspicious attachments or links. ... . The message creates a sense of urgency.. What are 4 things to look for in phishing messages?Requests for personal information, generic greetings or lack of greetings, misspellings, unofficial "from" email addresses, unfamiliar webpages, and misleading hyperlinks are the most common indicators of a phishing attack.
What are the red flags to look for in a phishing mail?Here are the 7 biggest red flags you should check for when you receive an email or text.. 1 Urgent or threatening language. ... . 2 Requests for sensitive information. ... . 3 Anything too good to be true. ... . 4 Unexpected emails. ... . 5 Information mismatches. ... . 6 Suspicious attachments. ... . 7 Unprofessional design.. |