Surfing the Internet has risks that few people are aware of, one of them being phishing or identity theft. Every day thousands of people suffer identity theft. This happens because every day there are many forms of online scams that people are unaware of and without thinking about it, it becomes a reality. It is not only losing money, but also the risk of committing crimes where you can be involved.
Today we explain what phishing is and how you can protect yourself from it by taking into account these 3 valuable tips. Read on!
What is Phishing?
Have you ever been asked for personal data to access a promotion, offer, gift or bonus? Let me tell you that this is one of the most used means to commit cybercrime such as phishing.
Normally, phishing is considered an identity theft technique through which they manage to extract important personal information. Constantly, these attacks may involve the impersonation of prestigious companies, banking agencies and others widely used by the victims.
Most common types of phishing
Phishing has evolved as it has been detected as a crime. Even public denunciations on social networks have forced criminals to adopt new forms of usurpation. We present the most common types of phishing so that you can be alert and do not fall into the trap of these fraudsters:
1.- Phishing convencional
This is the type of usurpation in which they take the image of well-known companies. When you click on the link you will enter a normal looking website. It is even an identical copy of the original website. But if you look at the site address you will find a variation in the site domain.
2.- Usurpation by redirection
In this case, criminals often use URL shorteners so that you do not notice the scam. Usually, the mail or advertisements you receive are from well-known companies.
Without thinking about it, many people click on promotions that employ this type of phishing and unwittingly give access to their personal data and become victims of online scams.
3.- Spear Phishing
This type of phishing is used to penetrate companies or organizations. It usually targets a specific victim who is approached with their personal data and very personal communications.
You won't find someone who is computer literate as a victim of this. Rather, they tend to target people within the company with little knowledge of the subject.
4.- Smishing
Have you ever received text messages with a link? Let me tell you that this type of scam is known as smishing. Here the trick is to use link shorteners so you don't realize where you are being directed to.
On the other hand, it is vulnerable who accesses the links, either for calls or text messages when they are requested. Well, it does not only apply to links and links to other harmful websites.
5.- Vishing
Telephone calls are the forte of this kind of usurpation. In recent times it has become quite common. There are even reports linking it to calls made from inside prisons.
Recommendations to avoid becoming a victim of Phishing: 3 valuable tips
Anyone can be a victim of fraud. There are many traps on the network aimed at defrauding users of large companies. For that reason, we leave you these recommendations that can protect you from hacker attacks that violate your security:
1.- The most important thing to avoid becoming a victim of these identity theft scams is not to click on all the links you receive. Either via e-mail or in the form of a message, you should not click on links that you are not sure come from official sites.
2.- On the other hand, protect your information and avoid logging into unsecured or public connections. This is because they are more likely to be spied on and make you more vulnerable to phishing or identity theft.
3.- Finally, if you have been scammed in this type of deception, the ideal is to recognize it and report it as soon as possible. This process is a computer crime and you will prevent other people from falling victim to criminals and hackers.