There are millions of people browsing the internet all over the world. Hence, in order to make money, scammers or hackers send fraudulent emails to the victims asking them to provide their personal details, which is known as phishing. Similarly, scams are illegal plans for making money, especially by tricking people. In short, both are the ways of unauthentic and fraudulent activities to loot people’s data and earn money from it.
History & Evolution
The terms of phishing and scam have not been here forever. They were introduced in 1995 and were hardly known by ordinary people until 2005. Over the years, scams and Phishing have not changed a lot. They are officially recognized as a fully organized part of the black market, globally.
Working
The phishing and scams are carried out with the following methodology:
- The phishers determine who their targeted victims are and create strategies to collect data from them.
- Then they create methods that lure data from their victims.
- They then send messages that appear trustworthy to the victims and begin the attack.
- They monitor and collect the data that victims provide on the decision means when an attack starts.
- Lastly, they use this data to commit fraudulent acts.
Types of Phishing & Scams
There are many types of phishing. Some of them are described below:
· Email Phishing
Such emails are designed to trick people into providing financial information, such as credit card numbers or CNIC numbers and log-in information.
· Spear Phishing
Spear-phishing emails are targeted toward a specific individual or organization. These emails look like they are from legitimate sources, while they are not.
· Clone Phishing
In Clone phishing emails, scammers create a nearly identical version of an email that victims have already received.
· Whaling
Whaling attacks usually target high-ranking executives in a company and trick them into giving information about the most sensitive of corporate data.
· Pop up Phishing
Pop-up Phishing is a scam in which pop-up ads trick users into installing malware on their computers.
Methods to Stay Safe from Phishing/Scam
Some methods to avoid and stay safe from phishing and scam are:
· Spam filters should be used.
· Opening suspicious emails should be avoided.
· Sending financial information through emails should be avoided.
· Clicking on suspicious links in emails should be avoided.
· Clicking on pop-up ads should be avoided.
· A password manager should be used.
· Two-factor authentication should be turned on.
· A sender policy framework should be used.
· Suspicious communications through official channels should be verified.
· Websites that are secure and encrypted should be used.
· Online accounts should be logged in and checked, daily.
· An Anti-Phishing Toolbar should be installed.
· Browsers must be kept up to date.
· Antivirus Software should be installed.
Key Takeaways!
Conclusively, the internet is an integral part of everyone’s daily life. Each individual using the Internet has his own data, which is very important to them, and to spammers and hackers as well. To keep the data protected, it is very important to take precautionary measures about phishing and scamming emails and methods. You can also contact the Claimers to help you out with phishing and other scam-related problems.
