The problem with phishing is that most of the people are unaware of the whole issue of phishing. Web users, who are already in threat from various elements like virus, spyware etc, are facing a larger threat than any of them, but what is phishing? And how can it harm you? These are the questions, which will be answered in the next few lines.
Phishing
Phishing is an online scam, where people associated with it pose as legitimate website or links and ask for the details of the user, like the personal, contact and financial details. Then they fraudulently access your accounts with the information provided by you, and leave you bankrupt. The problem is so overwhelmingly huge that it costs US government about one billion dollars every year.
How Does the Phishing Scam Work?
Most of the time, a phishing scam starts off with the victim receiving an email to his or her email account. Apparently, these mails look legitimate and from a trusted source. The most common types include emails from bank, financial companies like brokerage or even from credit card companies. These emails claim that your account is going to face some serious impending problem, like delay in payments or account closure, and demands attention from your side. They also provide the solution to the same like changing the account details, like username, password etc to get rid of the problem.
The same applies for the spoof websites or rather to say the mirrored website. It may seem to you that you are entering your details into a legitimate website. However, in reality, the website you are browsing is simply a fake one.
Once you provide them with your account details, the financial account of yours is now vulnerable to them, as they are the ones who can hack and operate it easily. Most of the time, it is observed that they usually utilize the account information to get loan grants and credits from the bank, leaving a huge financial problem for you.
How to Prevent Phishing?
Once you have fallen in to the trap of some phishing scam, it may take years to get rid of it. It is always said that prevention is better than cure and this applies to phishing scams too. One of the easiest ways to avoid phishing attacks is to have your anti-virus updates regularly. Also, make sure that you are installing an anti-virus, which has got email scanner and link scanners, which detects the safety of a link before you click over them.
A good spam control program can also provide protection from phishing. The most difficult part is to detect fake websites and mails from the real ones, as the scammers do not keep any single stones unturned to make them look like real ones.
Getting all the security settings of your browser turned “On” will also help you to prevent yourself from falling in some phishing scam. Browse safe and be away from the dangers of phishing.
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