Definition of Phishing

It is defined as a fraud attempt to obtain sensitive credentials such as username, password and financial details from online users. Attackers may target victim via phishing emails. Clicking on such unsolicited emails, you will land upon a counterfeit web page that will appear genuine by its look and feel. These websites float fake offers to lure users & encourage them to submit their financial & personal information, which can be misused by the attacker.

What are the Different Types of Phishing?

Phishing scams differ in terms of complexity, attackers objectives and so on. Different types of cyber attacks have emerged such as Spear Phishing, Clone Phishing, Whaling, and Deceptive Phishing. These techniques are used by hackers for their specific motives.

Deceptive Phishing

It is a common method of phishing in which the sender masks email ids as a legitimate company’s address encouraging users to click on the fake links provided on email. Attackers usually target a victim via bulk emailing process.

Spear Phishing Attack

It is a type of cyber attack which comes with a more personalized approach. Here, phishing emails are sent from address to which the receiver is familiar with. This increases the chance of fooling recipients.

Clone Phishing

It is a type of cyber attack where a genuine and previously delivered email with attachment or link including the recipient id is taken. A cloned email is designed with malicious links or attachment and is sent to the victim from a spoofed email id.

How to Prevent These Attacks?

In order to prevent cyber attacks or remain safe from an online scam, one need to install anti-phishing software on their PC. It is important to follow some tips to prevent phishing such as:

Always check before clicking on links that come via email. You can hover over the links and check if you spot anything suspicious like a spelling error or unfamiliar URL.

Always submit information on a website that has “https” prefix before the website URL.

Rather than clicking on links received on email type the URL manually on the address bar.

Never share your sensitive credentials such as password, account number, card details etc. with your loved ones.

You should be smart enough to spot a threatening trick

Use Anti-phishing Software

Download REVE Antivirus software to stay protected from such attacks. The antivirus software intercepts and blocks malicious websites foiling various scams or phishing attempts.

. Know how to detect a phishing email Internet security software with anti-phishing attributes helps in detecting phishing attacks.