What is Phishing and Why Do You Need to Get Away From It | Antivirus

The content that circulates on the internet through websites, e-mails, instant messages, social networks, and SMS can hide criminal intentions of conducting online fraud. Generally, cybercriminals pose as reputable companies and reliable websites to attract people, using a technique called “phishing”, which consists of throwing bait to fish for information, alluding to the English word “fishing” which means fishing. These frauds have an average success rate of 5%, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, and can result in numerous inconveniences and financial losses for the victims of the scam.

In this post, we will inform you how phishing works, to facilitate its recognition, and the precautions to be taken to avoid it. Read carefully and take a preventive stance!

The Multiple Faces of Fraudsters

Generally, phishers (fraudsters) assume the identity of institutions such as banks; credit cards, telephone, and cable television operators; email providers; government agencies (especially the IRS); police stations; Airlines; virtual stores; large retail chains and other reputable entities. Sometimes, they can even impersonate people known to the Internet user.

The Signs of Phishing

Phishing issues are your primary clue. They are created in such a way as to arouse interest, curiosity, a sense of urgency, or an opportunity to induce the person targeted by the scam to act on impulse, in the heat of emotion, without reasoning too much. Below, we will cite some examples of subjects covered:

• Banks: registration update to avoid account blocking; password, an access key, or token expiration; deposit confirmations.
• Credit card: expiration of points in a loyalty program; purchase confirmations, generally of high value; invoice shipping.
• E-mail accounts: e-mail cancellation; password expiration; block for lack of payment or lack of re-registration.
• General: enrollment in credit restriction registers; inheritance notification; sending compromising, intimate or revealing photos; sending virtual message cards; declarations of love by a secret admirer; prize draws; offers of free antivirus software or improved computer performance; messages with the recipient's personal data.
• Journalism: topics reported at the moment (accidents, attacks, catastrophes, and political scandals); exclusive information about celebrities or reports.
• Virtual stores and large retail chains: promotions and rewards offer; sending electronic invoices.
• Public agencies: notifications from the Federal Revenue Service; update of CPF and voter registration; subpoenas from judicial bodies or police authorities; traffic ticket notifications or irregularities with the vehicle.
• Social networks: notifications, photo tags, and invitations to games and events.

In addition to the subjects mentioned above, which give evidence that the content is phishing, there are other aspects that can demonstrate this practice: grammatical and/or spelling errors in the message or website; poor quality images; missing visual elements on the site; strange messages from friends.

Mechanisms of Action

When the user interacts with the email, SMS, instant message, or fraudulent website, he is induced to click on a link to view some content or download an attachment - usually a file with a .exe or .zip extension - that promotes the installation of malware (malicious software) or viruses on your computer or mobile device.

The malware can: trigger phishing messages to all the victim's email or social media contacts; record typed data; capture files or monitor user activities on the web. The link can also lead to a fake page (identical to the original page) where personal and confidential data and information must be entered.

Other mechanisms are fake e-commerce sites, to capture data from buyers, who will not receive the products purchased; and the purchase of registration information in an unlawful manner or invasion of corporate databases to steal it and use it in phishing actions.

Consequences of Phishing

The main consequences of this fraud are: theft of personal information - with this data, fraudsters issue false documents and carry out various commercial transactions, especially acts of fraud; theft of bank passwords and credit cards - with this data phishers withdraw and transfer money and make purchases on behalf of the account or cardholder.

How to Protect Yourself

There is anti-phishing software on the market, with effective anti-spam filters, which notify you of signs of irregularities in emails. As for sites, there are antivirus and firewalls that scan and notify irregularities or block access when they detect any possibility of fraud.

Another way to protect yourself is to move the mouse pointer over the name of the message sender, the actual email used will appear and you will see that it has another source. Hover your mouse pointer over the message link and you will see that the address (URL) has nothing to do with the alleged original sender. But, be aware, because sometimes the URL is very similar to the original, but there will always be some difference.

Troubleshooting

If you are a victim of phishing in your bank account or credit card, register a police report and immediately notify the bank and credit card operator, for card cancellation and password changes, as well as to track the fraudulent transactions that have been carried out. and take appropriate administrative and judicial measures, if necessary.

If phishing contaminates your computer or mobile device with viruses or malware, decontaminate it with antivirus software and install a firewall or use technical assistance to restore your equipment to work.

Phishing is a very harmful criminal practice in the virtual world, which causes financial losses, damage to equipment, and moral damage. Fraudsters are constantly on the lookout for new themes and systems for capturing new victims. Keeping yourself well informed about the techniques, tricks, and antics of cybercriminals and using anti-phishing, antivirus, and firewall software are the best ways to escape this terrible threat.