Phishing: Will You Take the Bait?

This week in our security series we’re going phishing. The word “phishing” sounds like “fishing” for a reason. Someone is creating bait that looks like the real thing and dangling it in front of you hoping you’ll bite. 

Phishing usually involves sending emails that look legitimate. They’re crafted to look as if they’re from your bank, the IRS, Social Security, your email provider, your employer, etc. but they aren’t. They want you to log in 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. Unfortunately its even more prevalent during hard economic times. Hackers and cyber scammers are taking advantage of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic by sending fraudulent email and messages that attempt to trick you into clicking on malicious links or opening attachments so now is the time to be extra alert.

For more about phishing, how it works and how to protect yourself, you can read the full article here.

(You can see that the link points to www.brightdime.com – so you’re in the clear.)