Phishing explained
Phishing scams are typically fraudulent email messages appearing to come from legitimate
enterprises (e.g., your university, your Internet service provider, your bank). These messages usually direct you to a spoofed web site or otherwise get you to divulge private information (e.g., password, credit card, or other account updates). The perpetrators then use this
private information to commit identity theft.
One type of phishing attempt is an email message stating that you are receiving it due to
fraudulent activity on your account, and asking you to "click here" to verify your information.
Phishing scams are crude social engineering tools designed to induce panic in the reader. These scams attempt to trick recipients into responding or clicking immediately, by claiming they will lose something (e.g., email, bank account). Such a claim is always indicative of a
phishing scam, as responsible companies and organizations will never take these types of
actions via email.
How to Prevent Phishing Scams
Be suspicious of any email message that asks you to enter or verify personal information,
through a web site or by replying to the message itself. Never reply to or click the links in a message. If you think the message may be legitimate, go directly to the company's web site
(i.e., type the real URL into your browser) or contact the company to see if you really do
need to take the action described in the email message.
When you recognize a phishing message, delete the email message from your Inbox, and
then empty it from the deleted items folder to avoid accidentally accessing the web sites it
points to.
Always read your email as plain text. Phishing messages often contain clickable images that
look legitimate; by reading messages in plain text, you can see the URLs that any images
point to. Additionally, when you allow your mail client to read HTML or other non-text-only
formatting, attackers can take advantage of your mail client's ability to execute code, which
leaves your computer vulnerable to viruses, worms, and Trojans
look legitimate; by reading messages in plain text, you can see the URLs that any images
point to. Additionally, when you allow your mail client to read HTML or other non-text-only
formatting, attackers can take advantage of your mail client's ability to execute code, which
leaves your computer vulnerable to viruses, worms, and Trojans
How to Report
If you do receive a message you suspect to be a phishing scam, call the customer service
phone number right away to confirm whether you've received an actual message or not. In
addition, almost every bank and credit card lender has a website where you can report
suspicious emails and instant messages.
Otherwise go the following web site to submit phishing links or email to us following email address
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