What is Phishing, and How Not to Get Caught

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What is Phishing, and How Not to Get Caught
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Protecting your technology from cyber attacks is
very important, but even if you have good
antimalware software and properly configured
firewalls on your devices, hackers may still
attack your devices by phishing. No, thats not a
misspelling. Phishing is an attack that tries to
fool you into giving a hacker with malicious
intent access to your technology.

• The Risk Successful phishing attacks can be
  extremely expensive and disruptive. If your
  technology stores financial data, your accounts
  might be drained, and you may have to shut down
  all of your existing accounts and open new ones.
  If your technology stores personal data, your
  identity might be stolen. If the data stored on
  your technology is valuable, it might be held for
  ransom.

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How Phishing Attacks Work
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• A phishing attack starts when you receive an
  email, phone call, or text message that appears
  to come from a company or person you know but is
  actually from a bad actor trying to get access to
  your technology for malicious purposes. The idea
  is to either scare or entice you into calling,
  clicking on a button or link, or responding to a
  text message.
• The majority of phishing attackers impersonate
  big banks or credit card companies, technology
  companies like Microsoft and Apple, or online
  retailers like Amazon.

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• The call, email, or text message may say that
  there is some problem with your device and the
  caller/ sender can help you get that resolved. Or
  it may describe an enticing offer. If the bad
  actor gets you to call, he will try to get you to
  install some remote access software and give him
  permission to use it. If the bad actor gets you
  to click on a button or link in an email or
  respond to a text message, that will launch a
  program that gives the bad actor access. Once the
  bad actor has access to your technology, he will
  install some form of malware which he plans to
  use later to extract data, corrupt your device,
  and/or set up a ransom situation.
• If you are an Apple user, be especially warry of
  giving anyone you dont personally know your
  Apple ID It can be used to cause all kinds of
  harm. The same goes for Microsoft Account
  credentials.

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Protection
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• Some antimalware software may protect you from
  email-launched malware. No antimalware software
  can protect you from harm if you give a bad actor
  remote access to your technology.
• The only effective protection is your awareness
  of the risk, being skeptical of calls, emails,
  and text messages like those described above, and
  avoiding giving strangers access to your
  technology. Dont go for the bait.

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Recommendations
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• No reputable manufacturer or software company
  will call you about issues on your device or ask
  for payment to help. If an email seems too good
  to be true, it probably is bogus. Click Away
  recommends
• Never give anyone you dont personally know
  permission to install or use a remote access
  tool.
• If you have any concerns about an email, check
  that its email address domain (last 2 elements
  xxxxxx.xxx) matches the real companys website
  and is spelled correctly. If the email seems
  bogus, dont open it just delete it. You can
  always use the real companys website to contact
  them.

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• Never call a phone number on an email. If you
  want to call a company, go to their website, and
  get their real phone number.
• Always be extremely skeptical. Better safe than
  sorry. When in doubt, give Click Away a call also
  you can search for the shop click away near me.
• Back up your data frequently to reduce potential
  financial risk.
• If you think you have been successfully phished,
  immediately contact any financial institutions
  where you have accounts that might be affected,
  turn off your device, and bring it in to Click
  Away for a free malware scan.

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Original Source-
https//clickaway.com/what-is-phishing-and-how-not
-to-get-caught/
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