In this post, I will answer the question – what is a common indicator of a phishing attempt?
Phishing is a cyber attack that many people have fallen for. It is not always easy to identify, but with the phishing attempts indicators, you can achieve that.
However, in this article, you will find out what phishing is, the common phishing attempt indicators, types of phishing, and how to protect yourself from phishing.
What Is Phishing?
Phishing is a kind of cyber threat where the attacker sends a fraudulent message or harmful resources to a person, tricking them into responding to the request.
It is a widespread threat to steal data, money, social media logins, credit card details, etc. However, hackers use different phishing methods to acquire this information.
What Are The Main Types Of Phishing Attacks?
There are many types of phishing attacks. However, this section will only cover five (5) common phishing attacks.
1. Email phishing
The most common and popular type of phishing is email phishing. Most hackers use this phishing method to steal people’s data.
Email phishing links are often sent by emails that look like a company email, e.g., john@amazonsupport.com. Most of those emails sent by this type of email do have a link that looks like the company domain, e.g., “arnazon.com” instead of amazon.com
2. Spear phishing
This is similar to email phishing, but with a bit of difference. Unlike email phishing, this email’s sender already has some of your data, such as name, job, and others. The hacker would likely include any of your information in the email.
3. Smishing/vishing
This type of phishing is done through telephone instead of email. Smishing is a phishing link sent through SMS, while vishing is acquired through phone calls.
4. Whaling
Some people call this CEO phishing. The text of this phishing is sent as a CEO to his/her employee requesting a favour. It’s one most tempting phishing that many people fail to resist.
5. Angler phishing
Angler phishing is often done on social media. It comes with a persuasive text that tempts people to click a fake URL or clone the website in the post.
What Is A Common Indicator Of A Phishing Attempt?
Phishing indicators make it easier for people to detect a phishing attempt. There is no argument that if you want to prevent phishing attacks, you need to know phishing indicators.
Below we explained some common phishing attempts indicators;
Manipulated email Domain
eBay is different from eBay. An email that has eBayy instead of eBay is a clear sign of a phishing attempt, e.g., support@ebayy.com instead of eBay may look legit, but it’s not. Hackers use a common trick to trigger people into responding to their requests.
Those types of emails are a proven indicator of a phishing attempt. It is crucial to take a close look at the senders.
Grammatical/spelling errors
Sometimes legit emails may contain grammatical or spelling errors. That is normal. However, grammatical or spelling errors are also phishing attempt indicators.
An email containing many grammatical or spelling errors is a sign of a phishing attempt, especially if it carries a company domain.
Unusual request
This usually falls under walling phishing. It is a situation where you receive an email from the CEO or senior executive asking for an unusual request.
This kind of email should always be ignored or confirmed before responding to the request.
Attached files
Most of the phishing emails come with attached files. The attached files in the email are a typical phishing indicator.
The files are always harmful. Clicking on the file may cause harm to your device or steal your data. Always make sure you trust the sender before opening any file in the email.
Sense of urgency or threatening
An email or text threatening you to click a link or open a file in the message is another sign of a phishing attempt.
This kind of email urges people to respond to the request in a very short time.
How To Protect Yourself From Phishing Attacks
Phishing attacks can be prevented using some proven strategies, which are;
- Check the sender’s email well
- Take note of shortened links
- Browse securely with HTTPS
- Ignore suspicious emails
What Should You Do If You Are A Victim Of Phishing?
Everybody can become phishing victims, especially people with little or no cybersecurity knowledge.
It may be directly or indirectly. So what should you do if you are a victim of phishing? Confused right? Relax, there’s a solution for you.
Incogni is the recommended solution to help you achieve that. The best part is that you don’t have to do anything; the platform will get you covered.
Sign up on the platform, complete the few steps and let the platform battle with the hacker and recover your data.
Conclusion
Phishing does not only cause damage to individuals but to companies as well. It even causes more damage to companies than to individuals.
Primarily, it causes financial and resources damage to the companies. That is the reason every company needs to employ a cybersecurity expert.
Moreover, using Incogni will also be beneficial to companies and individuals.
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