Chances are if your email or social media account has ever been compromised, you accidentally gave your credentials to the scammers yourself. The most common way to infiltrate an account is called phishing, in which people trick you into handing over your login info to false websites that look legitimate.
Phishing attacks aren’t new, of course, and there’s likely a deluge of such emails in your spam folder, but it’s still the leading cause of compromised accounts. This graphic from Digital Guardian highlights how you can spot phishing attempts in your inbox and how to avoid them. Whether it’s weird attachments that prey on your curiosity or spoofed links that take you to a false login page that imitates a familiar brand, there are a variety of techniques that scammers use to engineer their way into your account (often just to proliferate more spam). And it’s not just email; beware of shady text messages from unknown numbers or people posing as IRS agents requesting your private info.
Have a look at the graphic below for a thorough look at common phishing methods.
Don’t Get Hooked: How to Recognise and Avoid Phishing Attacks (Infographic) [Digital Guardian]
Comments
2 responses to “This Infographic Shows The Common Ways Scammers Try To Phish Your Account”
I have been sent heaps of phishing emails from Paypal lately, one email even spelled “PayPal” wrong.
It is a scary thought on how many people do actually fall for these.
Just something to think about with this is that there are times when official contact can look like phishing.
Someone calling from the Tax Office for example (disclaimer: where I work) needs to confirm proof of identity, and this generally involves confirming personal information very similar to what a scammer would be after.
Its something I’ve raised here a few times, and we’re seeing things change, but the blunt reality is that calls can still come across as scammy. The big problem is that if you treat them as such, the reason for the call isnt going to go away, and in my job that can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more. Not something anyone really wants to sort out later.
Just be careful is all. If you think its a scam, by all means ask questions, but just remember that it may not actually be a scam. If theres even the slightest chance its not, check.
Generally the officer will give you a switchboard number (which you can confirm) and an extension, or lately they’ve set up a 1800 or 1300 number for the same result.
Ironically, as this story popped up, I was reading my first phishing email in a while here. Not a good job, they’re pretending to be AGL, and using a polish email address… No typo’s though.
@harshas919 this shows that hackers are coming innovative to get more accounts to be hacked, infographics makes it simple and effective to understand the points, nice article…