By , Ken Levine
Published May 03, 2016
Phishing attacks are emails or malicious websites (among other channels) meant solicit personal information from an individual or company by posing as a trustworthy organization or entity. The goal of a phishing is to trick the recipient into taking the attacker’s desired action, such as providing login credentials or entering identifying information into a fraudulent website. These websites may contain malicious code that executes on the user’s local machine when a link is clicked from a phishing email to open the website.
Entrepreneurs and small businesses can be especially vulnerable to these types of threats, as many of these organizations lack the full-featured network and data security processes and protocols that large organizations employ. Vigilance will help prevent an individual or organization from falling victim to a phishing attack that puts sensitive personal and corporate data at risk.
Related: The Phishing Expedition You Want to Avoid This Summer
Phishing attempts most often take the form of an email that seemingly comes from a company the recipient knows or does business with. USA.gov lists some widespread phishing scams reported from agencies and corporations, revealing that phishing emails can take many forms. Five of the most popular forms of phishing attacks are:
Phishing emails can take other forms, but all types make it difficult for recipients to filter out phishing emails from legitimate messages.
Related: IBM Uncovers New, Sophisticated Cyber Scam Targeting Businesses
Phishing is most often initiated through email communications, but there are ways to distinguish suspicious emails from legitimate messages. Training yourself and employees on how to recognize these malicious emails is a must for companies to prevent sensitive data loss. Often, these data leaks occur because employees were not armed with the knowledge they need to help protect critical company data. The following may be indicators that an email is a phishing attempt rather than an authentic communication from the company it appears to be:
When in doubt, call. If the content of an email is raises concerns, call the company in question to find out if the email was sent legitimately. If not, the company is now aware and can take action to warn other customers and users of potential phishing attempts appearing to come from their organization.
Related: 8 Simple Ways to Minimize Online Risk
https://www.foxnews.com/us/how-to-identify-5-common-phishing-attacks