How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing? - Core Networks

Telcom and Cyber Security Blog

How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing?

Feb 2, 2023 | Business, CMMC Compliance, Cyber Security, Managed IT, NIST Compliance

One of the most frequent security issues people and businesses encounter while protecting their information is phishing attempts. Hackers are utilising email, social media, phone calls, and every other means of contact to steal important data, whether they are gaining access to passwords, credit cards, or other sensitive information. Of course, businesses make for very worthwhile targets.

Avoid-becoming-phishing-victim

What do you mean by phishing?

Phishing tricks you into doing anything that offers a con artist access to your computer, accounts, or personal data. They can more easily infect you with malware or steal your credit card information by posing as a person or business you trust.

To gain your important information, these social engineering scams “bait” you with trust, in other words. This may be anything from your social security number being used to accessing your whole identity on social media.

How to avoid becoming a victim of phishing?

Phishing schemes have been around almost since the beginning of the Internet and are not going anywhere anytime soon. Fortunately, there are steps you may take to prevent being a victim. Here are five fundamental rules for being safe,

Keep up with phishing techniques:

New phishing schemes are always being created. If you don’t keep up with these emerging phishing scams, you can unintentionally become a victim of one. Keep an eye out for updates on fresh phishing schemes. You will have a considerably reduced chance of falling victim to one if you learn as much as possible about them initially.

Implement an employee cyber security training curriculum to keep your front line educated to the ever growing threats.

Avoid clicking that link:

Even if you know the sender, it’s typically not a good idea to click on a link in an email or instant message. At the very least, you should be lingering over the link to check that the destination is the right one. The destination URL of certain phishing attempts might resemble a replica of the legitimate website and be designed to capture keystrokes or collect login and credit card information.

With proper email threat protection your risks of this sort of attack can be greatly reduced.

Avoid providing your information to unsafe websites:

Don’t enter sensitive information or download files from a website if the URL doesn’t have “https” written in the start or if there is no closed padlock sign right next to the URL. It’s possible that phishing schemes are not designed for websites lacking security certifications, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

A true Domain Name System protection service can prevent your users (or malicious software) from being able to communicate with bad actor sites.

Pop-ups:

Pop-ups frequently pose as being a trustworthy website component, yet they are frequently phishing efforts. Most web browsers provide pop-up blocking and security-enhancing plugins. If you want extra assistance, consult your IT personnel.

Phishing-blocking extension:

Most web browsers allow users to install add-on extensions that offer a variety of features to defend against phishing fraud. Using these extensions, you may rapidly check if the websites you visit are included in a list of well-known phishing sites.

Conclusion:

Uptime and data security are essential for sustaining success and further expansion as your organization expands. You’ve come to the correct spot if you’re seeking a highly responsive and skilled team of IT experts without the expense of an internal IT department. Core Networks has been offering employee cyber security training for three years and has a well-established and ever-growing curriculum.

Still need help?  Give us a call, we can provide all the mentioned protections and more for your business.