Steps to Avoid E-Mail Phishing Scams

“Phishing” is a name given to a social engineering technique used to trick people into divulging sensitive information. Phishing has become increasingly common as a means to commit identity theft. By following this advice, you will be able to identify phishing attempts, thus keeping your information safe.

How To Avoid E-Mail Phishing Scams

CHECK THE “FROM” ADDRESS

Every e-mail you receive has a “header” that contains the address it was sent from and the ones it was sent to. The e-mail address is written as follows: “name @ domain.com”. Domain should be the actual site the e-mail claims to be from. For example, if the message claims to be from eBay, the domain should read ebay.com. Bear in mind that there are ways to falsify this information. However, you can use the domain to quickly spot many phishing attempts without further effort.

CHECK THE “TO”, “CC” and “BCC” ADDRESS(ES)

One of the easiest ways to identify a phishing scam is to determine if the message was sent exclusively to you or not. Check the e-mail header to see how many other recipients there are. Be sure to check the “CC” section as well. If there is a “BCC” section, the e-mail has been sent to other recipients whose e-mail addresses are hidden.

Email directly sent to me

Email sent to undisclosed recipients

CHECK FOR LINKS

Most phishing scams do not attempt to gather information via e-mail. Instead, a link is usually provided. That page is then designed to look like an official page from a reputable company or organization. Once you enter personal information, the scammer receives it and can use it for identity theft or other nefarious activities. Before clicking any link, check that the address matches the site the e-mail claims to be from. The address displayed in the e-mail can actually be disguised, as well. Once you click the link, a completely different address can be accessed in your web browser. Clicking a link in a suspicious e-mail is not advisable, however. Some pages are able to exploit security holes in web browsers in order to install malware onto your computer.

BEWARE OF LOGIN FORMS

A common phishing scam involves stealing login information. A link is given in the e-mail that goes to a page which appears to be the login page of a site the victim would normally use, such as Facebook. Once the user types in their user name and password, the information is sent to the scammer. At that point, the scammer is able to log into the account, change the password and assume control over it. The account can be used for spamming. In the event it was a financial site, the scammer could start stealing money or applying for credit cards in the victim’s name. If you suspect you have entered your login on a phishing page, log into your account and change your password immediately!

Flickr image courtesy of dannysullivan

By following these tips, you will be able to identify threats and prevent scammers from taking you for a ride.

Tags: Email Phishing, Email Scam

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