Phishing is an act of accessing people’s sensitive data for illegal use such as stealing money, information, or identity. Phishing scams are so common nowadays and many people are ending up being victims. These malicious actors are tangling innocent people into their illegal acts in many ways. If you think their false tricks can never trap you, then you might have not got an expert. The best way to avoid phishing scams is to take precautions. In this article, we will discuss the 5 practices to avoid phishing scams.
Also Read: Best ways to protect Email account.
Table of Contents
Turn on the Anti-spam feature
Almost every email provider offers this feature, which we call an Anti-spam feature. This option automatically moves the suspected emails to the spam folder in your email account. As every person used to get various emails from different email addresses, it isn’t necessary that every email you got is genuine. Therefore, by turning this feature on, you don’t need to check every email distinctively, the suspected emails will be redirected to the spam folder automatically.
Block suspicious addresses
The simplest and quick way of getting rid of emails you find suspected is by blocking the senders. There are often such emails that claim to provide you with great opportunities, money, or something pricey. People who have no idea of such acts end up losing their money and confidential details.
These scammers draft proper emails that look professional and ask users to click on the link, or got a job, or claim your reward. Consequently, people trust them and end up sharing their data that they shouldn’t. So, just blocking the addresses you find suspicious is a healthy practice.
Link checking sites
Spam emails consist of links that redirect users to websites that look similar to some well-known and trusted websites, such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc. You might not know but there are plenty of websites that check whether the link is authentic or not. You can simply go to the website and search if the link you got in the email is from a source or not. We suggest you check the link on at least two or three websites to avoid phishing scams.
Some trusted link-checking sites are ScanURL, Norton Safe Web, PhishTank, and Google Transparency Report.
Domain age
Well-known and authentic websites have their own websites that they usually created at the time of the establishment of their businesses. They own a specific domain for years or a long time. Whereas, cybercriminals often create new websites and design them to entangle individuals. These websites are sometimes days or weeks old. However, this couldn’t be every time case, but this way is helpful when someone has sent you a link that looks similar to a popular website.
Let’s say, you got an email that says you got an Amazon voucher, and you can claim it by logging in to your Amazon account using the link. You can insert the link into the domain age-checking website and check the date when it is created. In this way, you can find out the difference between an original and a fake website.
Burner email
A burner email or throwaway email can be created for temporary use. If you got any email that asks you to log in and you are not sure if it is authoritative or not, then you can create a burner email. Not only for these emails, but you also can use a burner email for sites that you will not need in the future but requires logging in at present.
Avoid phishing scams
Cybercriminals create domains that look like popular websites and imitate them. As they have impersonated a website that is entrusted by many, it will become easier for them to steal people’s money by asking for their confidential details.
The best way to avoid these scams is to take precautions and be careful while surfing through a new website or clicking random links. These links look similar to the original ones such as the domain name Facebook.com can be imitated as FAceb00k.com.
So, don’t think you can just surf the internet without avoiding some unhealthy practices. In order to protect yourself from such scams you need to be extra careful in entering your details and tapping on anonymous links.
THANKYOU FOR READING We hope this article was helpful. If it was then let us know in the comments below. Also, if you are interested in similar articles, here are a few recommendations for you. 8 easy ways to prevent Email overload How to Schedule an Email in Outlook?