5 most common phishing attacks and how not to fall victim

The words, ‘fraud’ and ‘phishing’ have become very common at this time due to the rise in fraudulent activities. Many organisations and businesses have been at the forefront of educating their customers and the general public about the tactics used by these criminals and how to safeguard themselves and their funds.

Attackers often turn to phishing tactics to get unsuspecting individuals to divulge sensitive information, pretending to be someone or something else to get them to take action. Phishing attacks can be difficult to stop as it relies on human curiosity and impulses, hence, individuals need to administer a good dose of self-restraint so as not to fall victim.

Here are some of the most common phishing attacks and how to avoid them.

Email Phishing

An attacker may send you an email that appears to be from someone you trust, like your boss or a company you do business with. In the email, there will be an attachment to open or a link to click which may send you to a legitimate-looking website that will require you to input sensitive information such as your password, to access an important file. The fake domain often involves character substitution, like using ‘r’ and ‘n’ next to each other to create ‘rn’ instead of ‘m’. In order to combat phishing attempts, understanding the importance of verifying email senders and attachments/links is essential.