If you follow these rules and know how to stay away from the bait, you can avoid being hooked by a phishing scam. As long as you stay informed about phishing and keep one step ahead of the game, as tactics evolve with the times, you’ll be swimming safer waters. In the face of an increase in phishing scams, it’s necessary to learn how to avoid them, if you can.
Being informed about spam e-mails and spoofed websites is one of the best ways to guard against falling victim to a phishing attempt. For instance, spam e-mails may contain the company’s logo and appear official, but when you look closely, there are several warning signs that can give scammers away. Sometimes the e-mails have spelling mistakes or the language doesn’t sound quite right. But the best indicator is the request itself – legitimate companies never ask for you to verify your account, or to send your account information via e-mail. If you want to make sure everything is safe with your account, simply direct yourself to the website (without clicking any links within the suspicious e-mail) and log in directly to check on things, or call to confirm the sender’s identity and the truth of the request. Do not send the information online.
Secondly, don’t become frightened by the urgency of an e-mail or feel under pressure to answer immediately, without a second thought. Scare tactics are common when it comes to phishing, as a means to extract private information from unsuspecting people. Again, if you’re concerned about your account, call the institution directly to verify the matter.
A generic e-mail request is another indicator of a phishing scam. Because scammers tend to send out spam to a large number of people, the e-mails they send aren’t usually personalized. Authentic e-mails that arrive from your bank or other official organization include your name.
Never click on a link embedded in an e-mail message. Always visit the site on your own by typing it into your web browser and visiting it directly. That will ensure that you arrive at a legitimate site, at which point you can log in and check on the status of your account.
When entering credit card numbers and other important data online through a website, check that the site is authentic and utilizes encryption to secure the information.
But be careful: some phishing sites put fake lock icons on their web pages. For inexperienced web surfers, this might be an effective trick. To avoid falling into this trap, ensure that the lock icon is located in the browser’s window frame, rather than in the actual web page. And know that a secure site doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a site is legitimate. URL masking techniques have the ability to make fake addresses appear to be those of actual secure companies. If you doubt the site’s authenticity, call the site’s owner.
Another way to evade scam artists is by keeping your browser and operating system updated.
Install an excellent personal firewall, antivirus software, antispyware software and antispam protection. Because these programs reduce the amount of e-mail phishing scams that come your way, and keep malicious viruses at a distance, you won’t have as many chances to fall prey to a phishing attack.