Have you ever received an unusual message from a friend on Facebook and it asked you to check out a deal that they got on a new pair of shoes or an expensive purse? Chances are that this message did not come from your friend; it was sent to you because their account was hacked and it was then used in a phishing scam.

Phishing is a type of scam where the cybercriminal is going to try and lure sensitive information and data from you. They are going to do this by impersonating someone you trust, like your local bank or your friend. The phisher is going to trick you because they can send links asking for some of your personal information like your social security number or your credit card so that they can use it for themselves.

There are a few ways that the scammer is going to be able to reach you including through direct messages on social media, phone calls, email, and text messages. Some schemes are going to be obvious. If you see some odd-looking URLs and a lot of poor grammar, then you have some red flags that a scammer is there causing some problems. The problem here is that a lot of scammers are good at what they do and they are working on more sophisticated tactics that will lure you into sharing some of your information.

For example, there was a 2018 phishing scam through Netflix. The scammer was bale to send an email that stated the platform was having trouble accessing the billing information for the customer. The message then asked the user to click on a link to update the payment method. Of course, the link was fake and the scammer was able to take the credit card information and use it how they would like.

The best way to avoid one of these scams is to be on the lookout and vigilant all the time. If you aren’t sure whether this is a real message or not, go directly to the website of the company and do the work from there, and not from the link.

Being protected from a phishing attack will ensure that you will not have a big issue with the security of your network. And there are some simple steps that you can take to make that happen. Our team is here to provide the cybersecurity services that you need to learn more about phishing and makes sure that you are able to get all of the protection and training that you need. Come and check out some of our great cybersecurity services to help ensure that your network is safe the whole time.