Tag: Phishing

Frequently Asked Questions About Phishing

On October 27, 2016

27 October, 2016

Phishing is a common form of online identity theft that involves sending fraudulent emails in order to steal the target user’s personal information, credit card details, social security number and other sensitive data. A phishing email is crafted to look legitimate and often creates a sense of urgency to instigate immediate action from the receiver. However, despite the increasing number of phishing attacks, many people are not able to identify fraudulent emails and get tricked into giving out their personal information.

Given below are some frequently asked questions that will help you avoid becoming a victim of phishing attack:

How do I identify a phishing email?

Cybercriminals send out phishing emails masqueraded to be sourced from a legitimate entity, such as a bank or credit card company. Although these emails can be recognized easily by poor grammar and hoaxed email addresses, some of the phishing attempts can be highly sophisticated. The typical characteristics of a phishing email are that they create a sense of urgency and require the user to update his bank account information. Also, fraudulent emails do not address the sender by his name.

What should I do if I receive phishing email?

If you receive a phishing email, make sure you delete it without opening, particularly if it contains any links or attachments. You must remember that banks and financial institutions do not ask for sensitive information over emails. In case you have any doubt regarding the authenticity of the email, contact the sender directly.

How do hackers get my email address?

In most cases, the hackers do not know your email address. They simply send out the emails to randomly generated addresses so that they are likely to reach some customers of a specific bank or credit card company. The hackers may also detect an unprotected email server and send out phishing messages to the addresses on it.

What should I do if I have been scammed by a phisher?

If you suspect being a victim of phishing attack, immediately change your login credentials for the online accounts that may have been potentially compromised. Review your financial statements to identify any unauthorized activity. Inform your bank or credit card provider and request them to block all online transactions from your account.

Centex Technologies is a leading IT security company in Central Texas. For more information on phishing attacks, feel free to call us at (855) 375 – 9654.

How Can Organizations Guard Against Phishing Scams?

By centexitguy

On August 23, 2016

In Security

23 August, 2016

Business organizations are a worthwhile target for the hackers to carry out phishing scams. Whether it is to steal passwords, employee details or any other sensitive data, just a single click from an ignorant employee is sufficient to give out the information sought by the hackers. Though most phishing emails are detected by spam filters, it is important for the employees to understand the risks and consequences to avoid falling victim to such attacks.

Listed below are some steps organizations should take to guard against phishing scams:

Initiate A Security Awareness Program

The reason why phishing attacks have a high success rate is because they target the end users, i.e. people who have little or no technical knowledge about data security. Therefore, educating your employees about this aspect can help to decrease the probability of a potential data breach. As phishing attacks mainly involve a fake email, malicious attachment or ad, unsolicited friend request on social media etc., security awareness program will help your employees identify such suspicious activities more easily.

Keep Software Regularly Updated

Though security software do not offer complete protection against phishing attacks, they can prevent application downloads or website redirects that seem to be potentially dangerous. Hence, it is important to install and update anti-virus, anti-malware and anti-spyware software on all the computers in the organization. The same rule applies to the operating system and other programs installed on the systems. Keeping the software patched will protect you against the latest security threats and vulnerabilities.

Use Layered Security

Make sure your organization’s confidential information is protected by multiple layers of security. With this, even if a phishing attack is successful, the hackers would not be able to gain access to all the data stored on the victim’s computer system. Use secure user IDs and passwords, followed by data encryption, access control protocols, user activity monitoring and other such types of layered security.

Follow Best Password Practices

Encourage your employees to follow the best practices when it comes to maintaining confidentiality of their official email accounts. Make sure they create strong passwords and change them at frequent intervals. Also, the login credentials should be stored in an encrypted format in the computer system. By combining difficult and lengthy passwords with two-factor authentication, you can considerably reduce the consequences of a phishing attack.

For more tips on preventing and managing phishing attacks, feel free to contact Centex Technologies. We can be reached at (855) 375 – 9654.