Phishing refers to a type of scam where thieves attempt to steal personal or financial account information by sending deceptive electronic messages that trick unsuspecting consumers into disclosing personal information. It is assumed that the term phishing is gotten from the word “fishing” where scammers “fish” for usernames, passwords, and other sensitive information from a “sea” of users

Phishing attempts occur globally all year round, but they are said to increase during holiday periods as discovered by CISCO. They found out phishing attacks soared by 52% in December. Scammers use email or texts to send deceptive messages to trick people into giving out their personal information.

This is a global threat that can easily be avoided given the following signs below;

Use of Public Email Domains

If the message is sent by an organization from a public email domain, it should raise question marks. A public email domain is one provided by free email service providers such as Gmail, Yahoo!, AOL, Outlook, etc. Most organizations will have their own email domain. No legitimate organization including Google will send an email from an address that ends with “@gmail.com”. The email address will almost always be affiliated with the sender’s name.

Poor Use of Grammar

If the email is poorly written with grammatical errors and confusing context it’s another sign. This is a method used by scammers to know how gullible their victim is. If the victim isn’t smart enough to pick up on the wrong spellings, then they are most likely going to fall for the upcoming lies as they click on the possibly suspicious links sent in the email. The poorly written emails may also be a result of the area where the scammer lives. Most phishing attempts are done by people living in areas where English isn’t their primary language. As such, they use Google translate and autocorrect to fix misspelled words and errors which may not apply to the context of the message.

According to Security Metrics, legit companies usually call you by your name (dear Anna) when addressing you in their emails. Scammers on the other hand may use “dear valued customer” to avoid salutation altogether.

Use of Hyperlinks

Furthermore, some emails are created as hyperlinks, whereby clicking anywhere on the page will lead you to a suspicious website. These websites may input a virus into your device thereby giving the scammers access.

Use of Unsolicited Attachments

Another sign of a phishing attempt could be from unsolicited attachments. A legitimate company will hardly ever send an attachment directly to your email; rather they’ll direct you to their page on their website to get the information.

One of the most obvious signs of a phishing attempt is when you are asked for sensitive information such as your pin or address etc. Legitimate organizations won’t unnecessarily lie and ask you to send sensitive pieces of information about yourself through emails or whatever means.

Read about: Business Email Compromise

Also, phishing attempts can be noticed by the sense of urgency in the message sent to you. Scammers will input words like “ATTENTION! URGENT!!” mostly done repeatedly in all caps and exclamation points as this will draw the attention of the user. They may also add enticing deals such as a free coupon, free phones if you click on the suspicious link, etc.

Moreover, the tone of a message greatly signifies whether or not something is up. If a friend is unusually friendly or a family member you are fond of uses a somewhat formal tone in their emails, other signs should be verified to ensure it isn’t a phishing email.

Conclusively, being a victim of scamming could be avoided, if we are smart about it. The above signs are the most basic and easy to identify means that could be used, although scammers keep updating their methods.

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Gaelle Awah

Gaelle Awah is a Civil Engineering student She has had a passion for writing ever since she was little. She is enthusiastic about Cybersecurity and Technology. She also looks forward to gaining more knowledge on everything she comes across.

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