10 Tips to Protect Yourself From Phishing Attacks

Phishing is one of the most common and effective methods of getting information from careless users, and cybercriminals know it. So, what can you do to protect yourself from phishing attacks?

Unfortunately, there is no 100% foolproof method to get rid of phishing attacks other than frequent surveillance in the case of the end-user.

Phishing attacks are constantly evolving and change with each attempted attack. They can even vary according to the group of people being attacked.

Cybercriminals can launch phishing campaigns targeting employees of a particular organization or simply send malicious messages to prospective mothers, for example.

It is a bit like a marketing campaign — except that unfortunately, the promotion of the “product” or “service” is just a smokescreen to hide the real intention of criminals who, in most cases, is to steal important information from users.

There are countless ways to experience these types of attacks: access public Wi-Fi, access a fake website, or follow a link in an email that promises exclusive Black Friday or Christmas offers.

10 Tips to Protect Yourself From Phishing

It is impossible to list all cases. Cybercriminals are currently using the coronavirus to try to hijack user data. In short, it is easy to get infected. But how can you protect yourself?

Tip 1: Check the links

Always check the link before clicking. Hover your mouse over it to view the URL and carefully look for spelling errors or other irregularities.

Tip 2: Be careful where you type your username and password

Enter your username and password over a secure connection only. Look for the “HTTPS” prefix before the website URL, indicating that the connection to the website is secure. If something is strange, type your username correctly, but on purpose, make a mistake in the password, if you go to the next page, something is wrong.

Tip 3: Cautions when receiving notices and messages

Even if a message or letter comes from one of your best friends, remember that they, too, may have been cheated or hacked into without even knowing it. That is why you must remain cautious in any situation. Even if a message looks friendly, treat links, and attachments with suspicion.

Tip 4: Banks and organizations do not ask to change passwords

Messages from official organizations, such as banks, tax agencies, online stores, travel agencies, airlines, etc. also require analysis. Even internal messages from your own office. It is just not so difficult to manufacture a fake letter that looks real. If you receive a message from your bank, nowadays they all have applications, and certainly, you have installed on your smartphone, access the bank through your application and check the information.

Tip 5: Check the website you are buying from

Sometimes emails and websites look real. It depends on how well the criminals did their homework. But the links are likely to be incorrect — misspelled or may redirect you to another location. This happens a lot in emails with products far below the price. If you are tempted to click on that link, don’t do it. Enter the store and check the product using the search.

Tip 6: Fake links

Always avoid following the links in the emails. Instead, you can open a new tab or window and enter the URL of your bank, store, or other destination manually.

Tip 7: Report

If you discover a phishing campaign, report it to your bank, technical support for your social network, or any other entity that the phishing message is intended to represent. Reporting helps in the pursuit of criminals.

Tip 8: Avoid public wifi networks

Avoid logging in to online banking and similar services over public Wi-Fi networks. Access points are convenient, but it is better to use a mobile connection or wait to access a secure network than to lose all money on your credit card or bank account. Open networks can be created by criminals who, among other things, falsify website addresses over the connection and thus redirect you to entirely fake pages or websites.

Tip 9: Care of received files

Do not open unexpected files sent to you, or those that come from a safe source, if you did not ask, do not open. They can be malicious ransomware or even spyware, as well as official-looking email attachments. So be vigilant!

Tip 10: Antivirus, it’s always good, right?

You can install a free antivirus on your computer, today most have dozens of tools for protection. If we are vigilant, these tools are there, active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, doing automatic monitoring. But that is not why you will click on everything that is a link to test its efficiency. Keep being cautious.