Scam Article

Phishing is a form of cybercrime and social engineering attack where criminals try to deceive people into revealing sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, or personal details by pretending to be a trusted entity like a bank, employer, or government agency.cloudflare+2

How Phishing Works

Attackers typically send fraudulent messages—often by email, text, or social media—that appear to come from legitimate sources. The message might urge the recipient to click a link or open an attachment, which leads to a fake website that looks identical to a real one. Once the victim enters their information, attackers collect it for identity theft, financial fraud, or further attacks like ransomware or account takeovers.fbi+2

Common Types of Phishing

Email phishing: The most common form, where fake emails mimic trusted companies.
Spear phishing: Targeted attacks tailored to a specific person or organization.
Vishing: Conducted over phone calls or voice messages.
Smishing: Carried out through text messages.
Clone phishing: A legitimate message is copied and altered with malicious links or attachments.phishing+2

Why It’s Effective

Phishing exploits human emotions such as trust, fear, and urgency. Messages often claim that immediate action is needed—like verifying an account to avoid suspension—causing victims to act before thinking critically.crowdstrike+1

Prevention

To avoid phishing:

Verify sender addresses and URLs carefully.
Avoid clicking links in suspicious messages.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Use up-to-date security software.
Report suspected phishing attacks to relevant authorities (for example, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center).microsoft+1

Phishing remains one of the most widespread and damaging forms of cybercrime today, responsible for millions of incidents globally each year.wikipedia+1

Warning Signs of Phishing Scams

Suspicious sender addresses – The sender’s email or domain is slightly altered, such as “support@paypall.com” instead of “support@paypal.com”.foxnews+1
Generic or unusual greetings – Messages often use non-personal greetings like “Dear Customer” or an unfamiliar tone inconsistent with previous interactions.cofense+1
Spelling or grammar errors – Professional organizations rarely send messages with noticeable grammatical issues. Errors are a strong indicator of phishing.crowdstrike+1
Sense of urgency or threats – Phrases like “Immediate Action Required” or “Account Suspension Pending” are designed to rush victims into reacting without thinking.microsoft+1
Requests for personal or financial information – Legitimate companies do not ask for passwords, PINs, or Social Security numbers via email or text.consumer.ftc+1
Unsolicited attachments or links – Clicking these can install malware or lead to counterfeit login pages. It’s safer to navigate directly to the company’s official website.cofense+1
Domains and links that don’t match – When hovering over a link, if the displayed URL doesn’t align with the legitimate company’s website (and especially lacks “https://”), it’s likely a phishing attempt.crowdstrike+1
Unusual or unexpected requests – For example, a colleague or vendor asking for payment or login credentials outside normal procedures.cofense
AI-enhanced characteristics – With advancing technology, some phishing messages are grammatically flawless but sound overly formal or robotic. AI-generated voice scams (vishing) may clone voices but often have subtle inconsistencies.foxnews

How to Protect Yourself

Verify directly with the company via official channels before responding to suspicious messages.
Hover over links to inspect URLs before clicking.
Enable multi-factor authentication on important accounts.
Report suspected phishing to your email provider or the impersonated organization.

Phishing remains one of the most common and effective forms of cybercrime, but with awareness of these warning signs, it is possible to identify and avoid many of these threats.microsoft+3

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Phishing scams explained