How Can You Recognize Phishing | Free Antivirus

Most of you have probably already noticed the mails in your e-mail inbox: They promise high profits by clicking on a link, warn of an expiring Amazon account, or contain the invoice for an online shop in which you have never made a purchase. As different as the topics of the emails may be, they all have one thing in common: It is phishing - and without effective phishing protection, many users are often lost.

With phishing, the targets - i.e. the unsuspecting victims - are contacted via email. The cybercriminal pretends to be a legitimate institution, for example, PayPal, Amazon, or the employment office. This should instill trust and help ensure that the recipient of the mail clicks on the attachment or link it contains.

Fish for Your Data (and Your Money)

All the criminals are after is your data. These can be passwords, bank details, credit card numbers, and the like. Oftentimes, you should provide this information on the linked page. It usually looks deceptively similar to the original. Once you have registered, however, you have only achieved one thing: That all the information you provided ended up directly with the cyber thugs.

Usually, phishing emails are sent with the following intentions:

• Obtain your login and/or bank details and other personal information
• To make money from you
• Bringing you malware (be it a Trojan horse to collect your data or ransomware to blackmail you)

Phishing, Vishing, Smishing

In fact, phishing has become so popular that a distinction is made between different subcategories. On the one hand, there are special phishing attacks such as spear phishing or whaling, on the other hand, you can also fish for your data via SMS (smishing) or by phone (vishing).

In spearfishing, the cyber gangster leads the recipient to believe that they are trustworthy - for example by using the names of family members or work colleagues. Such attacks are targeted and require at least a minimum of research. Often parts of the information come from old data leaks. Because you seem familiar to the victim, this method increases the chances of success for the Internet rascals many times over.

With whaling (often also called CEO email scam) you go one step further: Here, phishing is carried out directly in a company. The cybercriminal poses as a board member or someone in the executive suite. The victims are often carefully selected here. The example of Snapchat shows how well the whole thing can work.

You Can Recognize Phishing by These Five Points

Fortunately, you can easily spot the fake emails if you keep your cool and pay attention to the following things:

1. Promise the Blue of Heaven

The promises are often too good to be true - be it the Nigerian prince/astronaut or just winning a competition that you never took part in. The prospect of more money or a quick profit should persuade you to click on a link quickly and without thinking and to give up your data.

2. Funny Links

In the scam emails, there is almost always at least one link that - according to the message - must be clicked. Definitely don't do that. If you look closely, you can often identify the link that looks seductively real at the beginning as a fake: In the addresses, a point often quickly becomes a comma or an O becomes a 0.

3. Quick Action Is Required

Phishing emails try to play with your emotions to convey a sense of urgency. That's why you often try to scare the victim here (“Oh no, the account has been hacked, I have to do something quickly!”) Or you explain to them that an offer is only valid for a certain period of time (“I have to now act to get the discount! ").

4. Like Cabbage and Beets

Although phishing emails have improved a lot in recent years, many are still full of spelling and grammatical errors. While there may be an error in an official email, this is more an exception than the rule.

5. Are you Gandalf1337@web.de?

Fraudulent emails often begin with a general salutation or use the email address instead of the name. A real email will always address you with your first and last name - or at least with the name given in your account.

How to Protect Yourself Against Phishing

The best defense against phishing scammers is to be vigilant. However, there are other measures you can take to protect yourself.

Let technology help you with the right phishing protection. Protegent's Free Antivirus  includes Password Manager and Software Updater. The included antivirus protects you from ransomware, spyware, hackers, and phishing attacks. You can download and install the suite for free. If you have been the victim of phishing attempts several times or you simply want to protect your device even better, Avira Free Security is an ideal option.