Phishing is an attempt to trick a computer user into clicking on a link they shouldn't or giving up personal information to bad actors.
The usual starting point is an email you receive that might look legitimate at first glance. There is often a goal of scaring you into action before you think things through. Here is an example of one I got awhile ago:
The goal of the email was to surprise and scare me into clicking any of the links in the email. What?!? I owe $473.73?? For what??
By slowing down and looking carefully at the email, there are several things that don't make sense.
- I don't know what Douglas.com is, so I probably don't owe them money.
- I hovered over one of the links. (Very important: HOVER, don't click.) The web address that pops up has several problems.
- sportline.vn does not match where the email supposedly came from, douglas.com
- sportline.vn is a foreign website, so I'm not likely to have used it. Any website ending other than the common ones like .com, .net, and .org are almost always not legit.
When you get a suspicious email, take a moment to think about whether it's legit. If it doesn't look or feel quite right, it probably isn't.
If in doubt, forward the email to us. We can let you know how to proceed and how to spot the frauds.
-John