News
By: Team WTI | Date: January 22, 2019
Categories: Security,
Tags: Email, Hacking, Phishing, Scam,
If you’re like us, it seems like when we open our email, we have a notification about a phishing attempt or find a sketchy email. Phishing is when an entity poses as a trusted contact like your bank, social media account, or another website that uses your personal information. The email will try to trick you into giving them log-in credentials, financial account information, or other personal data. The emails can also cause you to download malware.
According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, 70% of the breaches that occurred in 2018 were due to phishing. Unfortunately, hackers are becoming more sophisticated. In the past you could tell an email was fake due to poor English, cheap graphics, or mismatched branding. However, it is getting more and more difficult to tell when you’re being phished. A recent study by internet security company Cofense states that over 10 percent of the people that get a phishing email are tricked by it.
Knowledge is power, so Google’s subsidiary, Jigsaw, has created a quiz that will teach you to spot phishing attempts. The quiz consists of 8 scenarios regarding emails. You have to determine if they are legitimate or a phishing email. The quiz will show you what to look for in each situation.
Full disclosure: I work with hacked sites, phishing attempts, and other shady internet scams all the time and thought I’d get a perfect score. I got a score of 7/8, so don’t feel bad if you’ve been caught by one of these emails or don’t do well on the quiz. Take the information you learn and apply it to real-world emails.
If you receive an email that you aren’t sure about, DON’T CLICK ON ANYTHING. Have someone you trust take a look at it or contact the real organization that supposedly sent the email. It is better to take some time and effort to check on an email than having your bank account cleaned out or your identity is stolen.
Have you been the victim of a phishing scam or know about a really good one? Share your stories below and help others keep an eye out for hackers and scammers.
Make sure you have a good and up-to-date antivirus program. That can help protect your computer from being infected by malware and virus, although none of them provide 100% protection.
Contact WTI today about keeping your internet identity and computer safe.
Andy Snyder | Mississippi Valley Fair
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