Fraudsters are getting more sophisticated with their phishing techniques. Are you watching out for all 10 of the most common phishing attacks?
- The Government Maneuver – a fraudster impersonates a federal body to convince you to provide your personal information.
- The Friend Tactic – a fraudster tries to convince you to wire money to a friend who is stuck in a foreign country.
- The Billing Problem – a fraudster sends email indicating that your package will not be delivered due to incorrect billing information as a ploy to garner financial information.
- The Expiration Date – a fraudster sends email to falsely explain your account will expire shortly and you will lose all data in the account unless you log in with the link they provide.
- The Virus – a fraudster sends email which states that your computer has been infected and you need to download instructions via the attachment provided.
- The Contest Winner – a fraudster sends an email which notifies you to click a link to claim the prize with your personal information.
- The Friendly Bank – a fraudster impersonates your bank with false account notifications to capture your account number.
- The Victim – a fraudster sends an email to anger the recipient into the action of downloading an attachment which contains malicious
- The Tax Communication – a fraudster sends an email notification that you are eligible for a tax refund or have been selected for a tax audit.
- The Checkup – a fraudster claims to be a company which is conducting a routine security procedure and requests you verify your account by providing information.
If you receive an email you suspect to be from a fraudster:
- Don’t click on any links, open attachments, or expand/download any included pictures
- Don’t try to reply to the sender
- Report the scam by forwarding the e-mail to the FTC – spam@uce.gov
- Delete the email from your email account or computer
- If you do legitimate business with a company mentioned in the phishing email, you can contact them so they may take further action.