Have you been surfing through a website or emails and had a message calling you to reveal personal information such as credit card numbers or passwords? You may have been subject to phishing. Phishing is an attack in which scammers pretend to be legitimate websites to collect personal information. Cybercriminals also use phishing to deliver malware to users. The following four tips will help you avoid such security threats.

How to Spot a Phishing Message

If you are to protect yourself from phishing, the first step would be learning how to spot it. Messages with an urgent call to action are probably scams and promise a penalty or reward. For example, if you open the link, the scammer promises a $50 bonus.

Another sign is poor grammar. Legitimate companies hire someone to go through content before it is sent out. You could also spot a phishing message by how they address you. For example, does it use generic greetings? Further, if you sense or suspect a message is a scam, it probably is; thus, you should not open it.

Do Not Click Suspicious Links

Link manipulation is a trick out of cyber criminals’ hats. For example, they can misspell one letter of a legitimate company’s domain. Therefore, you should be on the lookout to ensure that you receive a message from a legitimate company. As a rule of thumb, you should not open any suspicious links. Apart from collecting personal information, links can deliver malware to your device.

You should especially be careful about links coming through your email. 92% of malware is delivered through email. A spammer could deliver malware, such as, after you click a suspicious link.

Install Security Software

Installing security software is one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and your business from security threats such as phishing. Ensure that the security software updates regularly to catch new security threats.

When purchasing security software, ensure it has email and malware scanning features so you are duly protected. Security software can also alert you about a suspicious file you are about to download.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication

If the website or account you use offers multiple authentications, use it. Multi-factor authentication has more than one way of login into your account, so a scammer will have difficulty using your personal information. For example, apart from having a password, you could add a fingerprint scan as a requirement before logging in.

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