As technology develops, online threats and attackers have also evolved. Protecting your personal or financial information has become more critical than ever.
Among these attacks is phishing.
According to statistics, global phishing attacks increased by 58.2% in 2023, nearly 60% growth compared to 2022. It is one of the most prevalent cybercrimes in the FBI’s 2021 IC3 Report.
Falling prey to these scammers can damage you financially. These attackers intend to steal your personal information, bank account details, and your personal accounts.
However, these attacks can be countered by adopting anti-phishing practices and adding email security solutions. In this blog, we will uncover what phishing is, its various types, how to identify it, and how Web.com’s security features can help you avoid these attacks.
What is phishing?
Phishing is a type of cyberattack where attackers imitate entities such as banks, popular websites, or colleagues to share sensitive data. Scammers send spam messages that appear credible to trick users, encouraging you to urgently act on their deceptive messages.
These attacks are designed to steal your personal information or download malware on your device. Scammers aim to rob your personal or financial details such as bank account numbers or social security details.
It’s one of the most common cybercrimes today targeting both small businesses and large companies
The Anti-Phishing Working Group, an anti-phishing website, launched a study called APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report. The trend report for Q1 for 2024 shows that cyber attackers frequently target their victims through social media platforms, followed by webmail and financial institutions.
With the alarming rise of phishing attacks, the Anti-Phishing Working Group urges individuals and corporate firms to stay vigilant and avoid becoming victims of phishing scams.
Types of phishing attacks
Phishing campaigns come in different forms. To fully equip your business from phishing attacks and scammers, you need to discover the different types of phishing. Below are some of the most common types of phishing schemes:
Email phishing
This is the most common form of phishing which involves fraudulent emails that mimic legitimate companies with the end goal of stealing personal information or login credentials. These emails often contain links to fake websites that look real.
Spear phishing
Also known as a targeted phishing attack, this attack aims at specific individuals or organizations. Attackers will spend time gathering personal information about their targets to craft more convincing emails.
Whaling
A subset of spear phishing, whaling attacks target high-profiled individuals like CEOs or CFOs. The goal is often to steal sensitive company information or commit financial fraud.
Smishing
Phishing attacks dispatched through SMS or text messages are called smishing. This attack involves sending text messages that trick recipients into clicking malicious links or providing personal data.
Vishing
This type of attack is conducted through voice calls or voice mails. Attackers pretend to represent a trusted organization, like your bank, utility company, or affiliated agency to get you to provide personal or financial information over the phone.
Pharming
This technique redirects users from legitimate websites to fraudulent ones without their knowledge. It often involves tampering with a website’s Domain Name System (DNS) settings.
Clone phishing
Attackers create an almost identical replica of a legitimate email that the recipient has previously received but with malicious links or attachments. This can be highly deceptive because it appears to originate from a trusted source.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
In these scams, attackers impersonate company executives or employees to mislead others into sending money transfers or confidential information to fraudulent accounts.
Angler phishing
This type exploits social media platforms. Attackers impersonate customer service accounts to interact with people, directing them to phishing sites or soliciting private information.
Pop-up phishing
These are pop-up windows that suddenly appear while browsing, claiming that you’ve won a prize or warning of a computer virus. This often directs users to enter personal information or download malware.
The impact of phishing: Identity theft and beyond
The implications of phishing attempts extend far beyond a single compromised password or corrupted email account. A single successful phishing attempt can lead to identity theft, money laundering, and even widespread data breaches. Let us break out the potential damage:
Identity theft
Attackers use your stolen personal information to commit identity theft. Victims of these attacks often face a long-term financial ordeal. You can wake up to a notification that you took out a bank loan you didn’t make. This is the frightening reality of phishing scams.
Financial fraud
Another reason for these attacks is to drain your bank account or max out credit cards. Scammers will send you an email imitating your bank or credit card company, tricking you into providing login credentials or personal information. Once they have your access, unauthorized transactions can happen.
Data breaches
Attackers not only aim to attack individuals but also small businesses or large corporations. Once they obtain access to corporate email systems, confidential data such as customer information and proprietary data are bound to be compromised.
These data breaches can affect the company’s reputation, resulting in legal action and massive financial losses.
Be on the lookout: How to identify a phishing attack
Protecting your business from a phishing attack involves making sure that you and the other people in your company know how to identify phishing messages. Here are some factors to look out for in email phishing:
Urgency and pressure
Phishing emails create a sense of urgency to pressure their victim to take immediate action. The email content they send provokes you to take urgent action on either verifying account information, updating passwords or providing your bank account information.
Scammers craft these messages skillfully to instill fear or anxiety in the recipient. This in turn makes you ignore rational thought process which will lead you to clicking malicious links or entering your information on a fraudulent website.
An example of this is receiving an email claiming that your bank account will be permanently closed or that you will incur severe legal penalties unless you verify your identity immediately.
Alarming phrases like “Immediate action is required!” or “Your account is at risk!” are commonly used to instill a sense of urgency in you.
Always be skeptical of these types of communications and verify their authenticity through official channels rather than responding directly to the email.
Generic greetings
Phishing emails often use generic and impersonal greetings like “Dear Customer” or “Dear User” because they lack the specific information required to address recipients individually.
This is in stark contrast with legitimate businesses that personalize their communications because they have access to their customers’ names and other personal details. An example of this is greeting you directly by name.
When you encounter an email with a vague salutation, it should raise a red flag for you. Take this as a sign to check the email more closely for signs of phishing. You should also take note that cybercriminals rely on these generic greetings to cast a wide net because they’re aiming to deceive as many individuals as possible.
Recognizing suspicious emails
Phishing emails may betray themselves through spelling and grammar mistakes, inconsistent use of fonts, or poor image quality, which are very uncommon in a legitimate organization’s communications.
Often, these misspellings occur because the email sender isn’t fluent in the language, or the intended email domain is already taken, leading scammers to use the nearest spelling that might be mistaken at first glance.
This tactic is a common strategy among cybercriminals aiming to deceive recipients into thinking they are dealing with a legitimate entity. Always scrutinize the sender’s address and any discrepancies in the message to protect yourself from these potential threats
Inspecting links
Hover your mouse over any links contained within the emails you receive. This simple action allows you to see the actual URL that will direct you to a fraudulent website. If there are suspicious characters in the link, don’t bother clicking on it.
Watch out for fake logos and branding
Phishing emails may attempt to imitate the branding of reputable companies. Pay close attention to the brand logo, color variations, unusual spacing, and overall design to spot any discrepancies.
This is due to the attacker’s limited access to genuine branding materials or lack of language proficiency. In addition, you should also look out for an unprofessional appearance, awkward layouts, and mismatched formatting in a possible phishing email.
Additionally, consider the email’s tone and language, as inconsistencies in these areas are telltale signs of a phishing attempt.
Verify with the company
Legitimate companies usually won’t ask for personal or financial information from you via email. If you’re in doubt, verify with the sender—whether that’s a bank, a retail store, or a service provider via their official contact details or their verified channels to be sure.
Avoid contacting the details provided in the suspicious email because these could easily connect you to scammers posing as company representatives to steal personal or financial information from you.
How to avoid phishing scams with 6 simple tips
Identifying the types of phishing is one way of avoiding becoming a victim. But that’s not enough. Being prepared and staying vigilant can actively help you avoid phishing attempts. Listed below are useful tips which can help you in securing your private information from online attackers:
- Be wary of unsolicited emails
Avoid revealing personal information. If you receive unsolicited emails from questionable sources, do not respond or share your information. To be sure, you can call your affiliated bank, company, or organization to verify if they sent you something over email.
- Verify sender identity
Double-check sender information before clicking links or attachments. If the sender’s email address doesn’t sound right, or it has misspellings, it would be safer to ignore or leave it on spam.
- Use strong passwords
Use complex passwords for all online accounts. Adding symbols, numbers, or mixing the upper and lowercase letters will give you a strong, unique password. It is also advisable to avoid reusing the same password across different platforms to safeguard your personal details.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)
Enabling 2FA to your account adds an extra layer of security to your account. It prompts you for a second verification code in addition to your regular account password. The code can be sent through text, generated through an authenticator, or delivered as a push notification.
- Avoid clicking suspicious links
Never click on unfamiliar links or download suspicious attachments that are sent to your email or phone number. If you receive an unfamiliar link from an unfamiliar sender, it would be best to leave it on read.
- Report phishing attempts
If you are suspecting a phishing email or other form of cyberattack, report these phishing attempts immediately to the Anti-Phishing Working Group to help prevent further attacks.
Web.com: your security partner
Identifying and taking the necessary steps to avoid phishing safeguards your site, but when it comes to cybersecurity, you can never be too careful. This is why adding an extra layer of protection for your business is crucial. If your business has a professional email and a business website, these tools will help you secure your personal and customer data.
- SiteLock – To shield your data and avoid malware on your site, you can add Sitelock protection for your website. It’s a security tool that protects your site from phishing attacks by recognizing vulnerabilities and preventing malicious activities before compromising your data.
This feature protects your customers’ data from hackers, automatically scans and prevents downloading malware to remove the threat, and earns customer trust.
- SSL Certificate – To conceal data from unauthorized sources, adding an SSL certificate is yet another layer of protection you can include. This security tool plays an important role in safeguarding users from phishing attempts by securing data transmission between the user’s browser and your website.
This security feature conceals your data in transit, preventing cybercriminals from stealing that information from a transaction.
- CodeGuard – This cloud-based backup and recovery service helps protect your site from data loss, corruption, and other cyber threats. This protects your website from phishing attacks and mitigates harm if it’s compromised by providing secure backups, constant monitoring, and speedy restoration capabilities.
CodeGuard will quickly and automatically backup your site, monitor any changes, and restore your site’s previous version if needed.
Stay safe from phishing attacks
Nowadays, cybercriminals have become so clever in their deceptive methods that it’s easy to overlook them. While being knowledgeable about phishing attacks helps, there should still be security measures in place to ensure the absolute safety of your company’s important information.
Visit Web.com to explore more about their security features, you can be assured that the data stored on your site is all safe and well-protected from any phishing attempts, or other cyberattacks.
Discover them now!
