What is phishing? Protect yourself from scam emails!

!!! *** Don't click any suspicious links! *** !!!

The overall term for these scams - phishing - is a modified version of 'fishing' except in this instance the fisherman is the cyber attacker and they're trying to catch you and reel you in with their sneaky email lure.

A basic phishing attack attempts to trick a user into entering personal details or other confidential information, and email is the most common method of performing these attacks.
Scams vary in their targets - some are aiming at unwary consumers. Here, their email subject line will be designed to catch the victim's eye - common phishing campaign techniques include offers of prizes won in fake competitions such as lotteries or contests by retailers offering a 'winning voucher'.

Similar techniques are used in other scams in which attackers claim to be from banks looking to verify details, online shops attempting to verify non-existent purchases or sometimes attackers will claim to be from tech security companies and that they need access to information in order to keep their customers safe.

The more common type of phishing attacks are ones that try to dupe you into handing over a username and password, either by linking to a fake version of a site you trust and asking you to log in with your details.

Some phishing attacks ask you to download a malicious attachment, and your antivirus somehow doesn’t stop it, then congratulations, you have an infected computer.

Bottom line, DO NOT click on links and never give out any personal information. If you have made this mistake, contact your service provider as soon as possible to rectify this mistake.

https://www.ittconnect.co.za/blog/internet-security