Tips on Spotting a Phishing Email

Phishing emails are becoming increasingly common, and harder to detect. A Phishing email scam is an attempt to trick you into giving out personal information such as your bank account numbers, passwords, and/or credit card numbers. At NSA, nothing is more important than protecting our clients’ data and information, so we’ve put together this list of tips for spotting a Phishing email so you don’t become a victim of this scam.

Here is what you should look out for:

1. Misleading domains: oftentimes, the sender will use a derivative of the correct domain. If you receive an email from “Microsoft” but the domain reads something like this……. info.microsoft.someoneelse.com it’s not really from Microsoft. Since phishing has become so prevalent, most major companies actually have something on their websites to help users determine if an email is authentic, including a list of their authorized domain names, what type of information they will ask for by email and how to report suspected phishing emails. Microsoft has taken an extra step and added a green “lock” icon

2. If the email contains a link, always check the URL of the link. The link may appear to be from a well-known organization but the link may be directing you elsewhere. So, if it’s your bank, the link should contain the actual domain of your bank’s website.

3. Most companies will not ask you to provide confidential or personal information via an email response, even if they believe your account may have been compromised. They will notify you by email but will not ask you to reply with any confidential information and will re-direct you to either contact them through their website (and go to their website, do not use the link provided in the email) or by phone. This includes filling out any form in an attachment. As a general rule, do not open the attachment.

4. One of the more obvious phishing email signs is poor spelling and/or grammar. Always carefully read the email; again, if you see misspelled words or poor grammar, this is likely a hoax.
5. If an email lacks a signature, printed name and contact information, be wary this may be a phishing email. Another notable difference is when the salutation is generic, “Dear Customer.” Most companies will personalize the email with your name.

6. Check the quality of the logo or images contained in the email. Most phishing emails use a copy of the logo taken off the company’s website or found somewhere on the Internet so is not of the best image quality.

7. If you receive an email asking for money, red flags should go up! Especially if they are being asked for payment through a wire transfer, bank to bank, Interac e-transfer, or gift cards. Most reputable companies will take PayPal or credit card payments through their website and not ask you to pay through other means.

8. If an email has a threatening tone to it, be wary. Most reputable companies will not send you a threatening collection email on their first contact.

9. If you receive an email about an order that has been cancelled, before responding, go to the merchant site and log into your account and verify your sales history and initiate contact using the contact information on the merchant site. Especially if you do not recall or are unaware of any recent purchase from that merchant.

10. Emails from the government warning of back taxes or debts owed that must be paid immediately. Government agencies do not use email for these types of correspondence; they will either send you a written snail mail letter or alert you via email of a message on their secured site, which you need to log into.

Hope these email security tips are helpful. Feel free to share this blog with others who use email often – we can all do with a reminder of what to watch for!

Next month, we’ll share a blog about Pharming and how to spot it when it happens.

For More Info : https://www.nsacom.com/