protect from phishing

Protect yourself from Phishing

Phishing is a electronic communication concept through which a person or a company trying to steal personal data and passwords.

More than 37 million people has encountered phishing attack in the last year surveyed by kaspersky Lab.According to Symantec on 2013 392 e-mails per day is a phishing mail.

It works by impersonating communications from companies that you trust: banks, online payment firms like PayPal, social networks, online retailers and other technology companies, as well as government bodies (tax authorities, for example).

Some tips for avoiding phishing mail:

If it looks wrong, it probably is wrong:Typos can be a sign that an email is dodgy.Typos in an email from your bank really are a red flag – as are all-capitals in the email's subject and a few too many exclamation marks.

Check the email address carefully: A big company usually sends mails from a same address.If that differs then be careful.

Watch for impersonal introductions: Real e-mails comes usually with your real name.But when you get like "Dear Customer" or something like that then its a warning sign.

Beware of threats and urgent deadlines: Sometimes a reputable company does need you to do something urgently – eBay was recently forced to ask its customers to change their passwords quickly after a cyberattack, for example. But usually, threats and urgency are a sign of phishing: if you're being asked to do something to prevent your account being shut down, or within a tight deadline, its cause for caution.

Be careful  about phone numbers and web links : If you are asked to call a number or click a link please do a verification for confirmation for its legitimacy.

Beware of spear phishing : In recent years, a new variant has emerged called spear phishing, which is much more personal.Spear phishing targets individuals: instead of "Dear Customer" an email might address you by name, refer to a recent transaction you've made and/or draw on other information that you've shared online – often on social networks.Most advice on avoiding spear phishing involves urging you to be more careful on social networks: the kind of "could this information be useful to a cyber criminal" caution that may not come naturally when tapping out a tweet or Facebook status update.