What is Phishing?

By Corporal Punishment

Phishing is a type of cybercrime that tricks people into giving away their personal information, passwords, bank accounts, credit card numbers, or anything useful to a criminal.

Phishing usually happens through emails or websites that look like they belong to legitimate organizations but are fake and designed to steal your data, but they are also common with phone calls, text messages, and social media.

For example: Typically, you receive an email from your bank warning that your account has been compromised, which is worded to scare you into clicking a link to verify your information. However, if you click on the link, you go to a website that looks like your bank's but is actually controlled by hackers who capture and steal your information.

Phishing is annoying and dangerous, resulting in identity theft, fraud, or malware infection. That's why you should always be hype-vigilant when receiving any messages or requests that ask for your personal information. Here are some tips to avoid phishing:

- Never open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or suspicious messages.
- Check the sender's email address and website URL for spelling errors or inconsistencies. For example: It is typical for a Phishing email to impersonate your Chase account by using an address like "ChaseOnlineCom.xyz" instead of ChaseOnline.com
- Look for signs of encryption, such as a padlock icon in your browser or "https" in the address bar, when entering sensitive information online.
- Use strong passwords and change them regularly.
- Never share your personal information with anyone you don't trust or know.

Phishing is a crime. You can help others out by reporting any Phishing attempt to the FTC Cyber Crime Divisionor forwarding the bad email to reportphishing@apwg.org

Remember, phishing is a serious threat that can affect anyone. Don't let yourself be fooled by these sneaky scammers who want to fish for your information. Iff you would like to read more, check out Types of Phishing Attacks and How to Spot Them

Be smart and stay safe online!