Don’t get hooked by phishing lures! Con men have used deception to gain victims' confidence and defraud them.
Know Tell-tale Signs
Whether through emails or pop-ups, scammers gain trust by posing as legitimate businesses, organizations, or individuals to entice victims to divulge personal information or to click on malicious links or attachments. They may spoof the email and web addresses, pilfer legitimate logos, or set up fake websites.
Be aware of tell-tale signs like:
- You have won a fortune, but need to provide your financial information
- Pay taxes before it can be claimed
- Poor spelling or grammar
- No lock icon in the URL
- Web URLS that use http and not https (“s” for secure)
- Incredible offers that sound too good to be true
Minimize Your Risks
When it comes to phishing, the best line of defense is you. Be observant and avoid the lures. Recommendation include:
- Install and update antivirus software. Enable it to scan attachments before downloading or saving them.
- Only open attachments from trusted sources. When in doubt, don’t click links or attachments.
- Be observant. Check URLs carefully to ensure the address spellings and domain names (.com versus .net) are correct.
- Do not enter personal information in a pop-up screen.
- Do not email your personal information. Legitimate businesses will not ask for personal information to be emailed.
- Don't respond to spam.
- Do not open executable, or .exe, files and be wary of .zip files, which may contain malicious files.