SMARTPHONE owners have been warned about scammers sending malicious emails to steal their money.
Phishing scams are a major threat to online security, and they’re only becoming more common.
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In fact, millions of phishing emails are sent every day, according to a recent McAfee blog post,
WHAT IS PHISHING?
Phishing messages trick people into clicking on malicious links or attachments that can steal their personal information or financial data.
In some instances, scammers may impersonate legitimate companies or organizations, such as banks, credit card providers, or even your employer.
To help people avoid falling victim to phishing emails, McAfee has shared some red flags to watch out for.
RED FLAGS
There are a few sentences in emails that can indicate it’s a scam, according to McAfee:
- “You’ve won our cash prize drawing! Send us your banking information so we can deposit your winnings!”
- “You owe back taxes. Send payment immediately using this link or we will refer your case to law enforcement.”
- “We spotted what might be unusual activity on your credit card. Follow this link to confirm your account information.”
- “There was an unauthorized attempt to access your streaming account. Click here to verify your identity.”
- “Your package was undeliverable. Click the attached document to provide delivery instructions.”
Most scammers will employ a sense of urgency to get you to send over money or information.
Bad actors know that victims who feel pressure tend to act less rationally when making decisions.
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Moreover, legitimate entities will never ask you to send money or banking information on the spot.
Instead, they will give you information and a specific time frame to act.
My bank account was drained of $43k minutes after a strange pop-up on work computer – the next call I made lost it all
Another thing to watch out for is if you’re being asked to send over money at all.
Lastly, it’s important to know that if an offer seems too good to be true, it likely is.
HOW TO STAY SAFE
There are several steps you can take to mitigate your risk of being a phishing victim.
The first step you can take to lower your risk is to recognize the scam; look out for clues and never click on suspicious links.
Second, you will want to make sure your devices are protected and the software is consistently updated.
The last thing to do is protect your information with strong passcodes and encryption.
If you believe your device or data is compromised, you should run an anti-malware and change all of your passcodes immediately.
