🚨How to Recognize and Avoid Online Scams🚨
(Phishing, fake websites, etc.)
Phishing: Phishing is an illegal online scam where fraudsters attempt to trick and deceive individuals into giving out their personal information.
Recognize phishing: Phishing attempts are usually received via text messages, emails, and phone calls. These scams typically come from a random number or email that you have not interacted with before. They can look very credible and claim to come from trusted sources, so keep your eye out for anything that looks out of place. Do not click on anything unless you are certain that it comes from a trusted and verified sender.
🚩Phishing Red Flags🚩:
- Requests for Personal Information: Scammers will ask for sensitive details like credit card numbers, home addresses, or Social Security numbers.
- Warning Sign: ⚠️Legitimate companies rarely request sensitive information via text. Never provide personal information unless you were the one who initiated the request such as a password reset.
- Free Items/Unrealistic Offers: Phishing attempts will often offer something enticing that sounds too good to be true. It is common for these scams to offer free money to lure victims into downloading malware or providing login credentials.
- Unfamiliar Senders: The phishing attempt will come from an unfamiliar source. Keep a close eye for similar variations of a legitimate source (e.g. G00GLE instead of Google).
- Urgent Language❗: The messaging of a phishing attempt uses urgent language to try and fool you into taking immediate action.
- Suspicious links or Attachments: Scammers will include links that lead to fake websites and attachments that contain malware/viruses. Do not click on any links or download any attachments from a suspicious email.
📌Types of Phishing Attacks:
- Email Phishing - Attackers send fraudulent emails that mimic legitimate sources, often containing malicious links or attachments.
- Spear Phishing - A targeted attack aimed at specific individuals or organizations using personalized information to increase credibility.
- Whaling - A form of spear phishing that targets high-profile individuals such as executives or government officials.
- Vishing (Voice Phishing) - Attackers use phone calls to impersonate trusted entities and extract confidential information.
- Smishing (SMS Phishing) - Fraudulent messages sent via SMS, often containing malicious links or urgent requests.
⚠️How to avoid online scams⚠️: