Introduction.
The world is a crazy place to live now, especially with cyber threats everywhere in which they can cause serious damage to us (it can be money, valuable information, loss of privacy and more) and most times it can be severe so that’s why we have to be educated concerning cyber threats and ways to prevent and stop it from happening. One of the many common cyber threats we are going to look at is Phishing Email.
What is a Phishing Email?
A Phishing email is a fake email designed to trick you into giving away sensitive information like username, passwords or credit card details. Common examples of phishing email are fake bank alerts asking for login details, emails impersonating popular services like PayPal, Netflix, or Amazon e.t.c.
Quick Ways to Identify Phishing Emails.
- Check the sender email address: Does the email look suspicious to you?
Phishing emails often use fake sender addresses. For instance, instead of “[email protected]”, they might use ”[email protected]” to trick you. - Check for attached files or links or images (except if you are originally expecting an email containing attached files from someone you know).
- Beware of unusual, weird, and urgent languages like “act now” or “check now” or “your account will be suspended”.
- Beware of suspicious links. You can hover over them first to preview the URl,if they look suspicious and weird, don't click.
- Look for poor grammar and spelling errors.
What to do If you suspect a Phishing Email.
Don’t reply or click on links.
Report the email to the relevant organization or email provider.
Delete the email permanently.
How to protect yourself.
Use anti-virus software to scan attachments.
Enable Spam filters in your email accounts.
Educate yourself about cyberattacks and how to deal with it well.
Conclusion.
It is always important to stay vigilant to prevent our data from leaking to hackers. Stay cautious, and consider sharing this guide to help others stay safe online. Don’t let scammers scam you !!!