Every day that we use the Internet we risk becoming a victim of email fraud. This remains a profitable source of income for cybercriminals who are using increasingly sophisticated tactics.
Due to this, it is vital that we stay on top of this attack vector and inform ourselves as much as possible in relation to the possible threats.
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— Will Corry (@slievemore) October 15, 2018
The aim of cybercriminals is to fool you into handing over some personal information that they can use to steal money or access valuable information online.
They try to accomplish this by creating authentic-looking emails that appear to be sent from genuine sources like a bank, social media account or an online store.
In most cases this spam email will look like they have been sent to you from a source familiar with you and will include a link/URL to a website that will try and get you to hand over some personal information like usernames, passwords and financial details.
As email fraud is so prevalent it is natural to assume that everyone is wise to them now and they are less successful than they may have been in previous years.
However, all indications are that around one quarter of people who receive phishing emails will open them. Due to these hackers work tirelessly to create email that are ever-more convincing.
Once they obtain your personal data, cyber criminals can use it to commit identity theft or identity fraud and steal your hard-earned cash from your bank account.
There is a chance that you will always receive some level of email fraud to your inbox but you can follow the below steps to give yourself the best chance of not falling victim to it.
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Delete any email that you fear may be fraud or spam.
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If an email from a known contact appears to be suspicious you could assume that their account has been taken over by cybercriminals. If this seems to be the case the smart thing to do is contact your friend separately to verify if they sent the email.
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If any email is not personalized that it could be fraud. Authentic messages, such as those from your bank, will refer to you by name and not use a generic term for this.
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Never click on a link within an email unless you are 100% happy that you know the sender.In most cases, links within spam emails will take you to a phishing website that. If you are urged to visit a specific site then open your web browser and type the URL in directly so you are not taken to a phishing website. You can use trustifi.com/email-analyzer/ to verify an email and detect phishing attempts.
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Make sure that your settings for software have been configured properly. Configure your software correctly to ensure maximum security. There will be guidelines available on how to do this. -
If you are given a deadline to comply with and complete an action then it is likely you are the recipient of spam email. In most cases this is a tactic of cybercriminals to try and trick you into sharing data.
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Set up strong and reliable anti-virus software and keep it updated and apply all patches released to address vulnerabilities.
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Finally, and probably most importantly, set up a strong secure password, that you never share with anyone……………………
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— Will Corry (@slievemore) October 15, 2018