Tips for fighting phish, spotting scammers and staying secure
From mysterious emails to puzzling pop-ups, learning fraud detection tactics can feel daunting. Not to fear: Week 2 of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM) has begun, bringing with it an array of resources, strategies and guides on how to spot dead giveaways for scams and schemes.
Though cybercrime is an enduring dilemma, staying connected doesn’t mean staying defenseless. Most attempts at stealing data are preventable with simple, quick, and proactive safeguards, ensuring your smooth journey through the digital landscape!
Keep in mind the Three S’s this month and beyond, and explore cyberspace with confidence:
Social engineering - Some cybercriminals use manipulation to achieve their goals, tricking targets into willingly handing over sensitive information. Remember: reputable companies will never ask for your password or login credentials, nor will they send emails littered with urgent, inexplicable demands for money. Popular companies like Microsoft, PayPal, and Netflix were among last year's most frequently impersonated brands. If you receive a suspicious or demanding email, do not respond or use the contact information it contains. Instead, visit the organization’s official website or social media channels to find verified contact details, and use those to confirm the message’s legitimacy.
Spear phishing: In this scheme, scammers will exploit personal details, such as their target's workplace or hometown, to make their ruse more convincing. This includes sending an email that appears, at first glance, to be from a colleague or loved one. Always verify the sender: Is the email coming from your workplace’s domain (e.g., @asu.edu), or a slightly modified version made to spoof your workplace’s domain (e.g., @asu_.edu)? Do you recall your friend's emails coming from this address, or have they always contacted you through other platforms? Double-checking the sender’s address and assessing the authenticity of the email’s contents can prevent you from stumbling into a security breach.
Security questions: Avoid answering common security questions on a public online forum. Questions like “What was your first car?” or memes such as “Post your ‘rapper name’ - the name of the street you live on, plus your last name!” require you to disclose personally identifiable information (PII) that could offer hints about your password, or reveal the answers to your password reset security questions. Ensure any information offered in a public forum does not contain highly personal, easily identifiable facts about your life and history.
Visit GetProtected to learn more about information security, and begin taking steps today for more ways to keep your data safe and sound!