Phishing Scams
What are they ? Phishing scams are sent to you via text or email and attempt to gather your personal information . These messages look like they are from people or businesses you know and prompt you to follow a link or open an attachment .
How common are they ? According to the FTC , scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks daily . The FBI ’ s 2019 Internet Crime Report showed that phishing scams are consistently one of the most reported scams . Last year alone , people lost over $ 57 million because of them .
How do you recognize them ? Phishing scams rely on you taking the message you are viewing at face value , which can be easy to do when it seems legitimate . It may sound obvious , but make sure your company has an account with the company attempting to contact you . If you believe that someone may have fraudulently opened an account using your personal details , never respond to the message or email you received -- go to the official website and find a verified customer service phone number .
What do you do if you interacted with a phishing email ? If you accidentally interacted with an email you now realize was fake , there are a few things you can do . If you clicked on a link or attachment that downloaded something to your computer , update your computer ’ s security software and run a scan . If you provided personal information , like your Social Security number , credit card or bank account number , go to IdentityTheft . gov . There , you will find the specific steps to take based on the information that you lost .
Where should you report it ? If you receive a phishing email , forward it to the Anti-Phishing Working Group at reportphishing @ apwg . org . If you get a phishing text message , you can forward it to SPAM ( 7726 ). And officially report the phishing attack to the FTC at ftc . gov / complaint .
If the text or email is from a service you do business with , does the message ask you to provide sensitive information ? Legitimate businesses will never ask you for personal information over unsecured platforms . A surefire way to figure out the validity of the message is to check the phone number or email address it was sent from . Pay close attention to spelling and extra symbols , especially if the email address has a person ’ s name . If it does not match those from prior communications with the same company , the message is likely fake .
Source : https :// www . consumer . ftc . gov / articles / how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams https :// www . fbi . gov / news / stories / 2019-internet-crime-report-released-021120
BBB TRUST TALK 25