Phishing. Yes, That’s Spelled Right.

The word “phishing” sounds like “fishing” for a reason. Someone is creating bait intended to look like the real thing and dangling it in front of you hoping you’ll bite. Phishing usually involves sending emails that look legitimate, as if they were from your bank, your email provider, your employer, a co-worker, the electric company, etc. but aren’t. They are crafted to get you to login to “your account”, click a link, or share a password – but it’s not your account, the link doesn’t actually go to your bank, and that password you shared is now in the hands of someone with bad intentions. Phishing attempts have become much more sophisticated and can be extremely difficult to spot, even if you know what you’re looking for. There’s a reason phishing is so widespread – it works. So what can you do about it?

Be wary. Be suspicious. Verify before you click.

The most important thing you can do is develop a habit of being cautious. Phishing counts on your automatically clicking the link, putting in your password, or opening the attachment. If you get an email you weren’t expecting, even if it’s from someone or a company you know, don’t click the link. If it’s from a coworker or a superior asking you to “check out this document” – email them or call them directly (don’t just “reply”, that would go back to the phisher) and confirm that they sent it. Get an email from your bank saying your account is locked and you need to login to unlock it? Don’t follow the links in the email. Open a web browser, go to the bank’s homepage, and log in there to look for the same message. Verify the message externally before you take any action on what was in the message.

You can read the whole article here: https://library.brightdime.com/2019/02/08/phishing-what-you-need-to-know-to-protect-yourself/ (You can see from the link that this points to library.brightdime.com – so you’re in the clear.)