How to Avoid Phishing and Fraudulent Schemes
“Phishing” is the name of fraudulent attempts to gain personal information or banking details. It is done by malicious parties who want to obtain details such as usernames, credit card details, and passwords. If someone manages to gain access to your details, they can then use the information to steal or manipulate your finances, leaving you in a vulnerable position.
Phishers have different schemes to trick individuals to give their details. Following the steps below will help keep you aware of potential fraud attempts, keeping your funds secure.
Don’t fall for urgent deadlines
One of the primary tactics that happen in phishing is to put the individual under pressure to act quickly. This is done by adding tight deadlines to act or miss out. If you ever see an “urgent” request to send money or personal information (especially through email or SMS), make sure that the request is legitimate by phoning the company, and, if it is, ensure that you are sending your details to the correct channel of communication.
Change your passwords often
This is simply to help prevent someone from hacking into any accounts you have, which diminishes the chances of them stealing your information from any websites you might have visited.
If it seems fishy, it probably is
If you have a gut feeling that something is wrong, you probably feel that way for a reason. Make caution your first and primary instinct when transacting or handing over information and don’t trust people too easily.
Avoid the unknown
Phishers often gain information by sending people emails or texts with click-bait links attached. To avoid this, don’t open any emails from addresses you don’t know and don’t open any links from people or companies you don’t know.
Pay attention to the link of the website
Phishers often use a fake website and change the links slightly to look legitimate. If you are sending personal and important information to a website, make sure the website is what it should be. One way to double-check is to look the company up on your search engine in another tab and see whether the links are the same. If they are not, take extra caution and contact the company before trusting that it’s legitimate.
Your financial safety is our priority and we want to help put practices in place to keep you and your assets protected!
If you have any questions or would like to report suspicious activity, please phone us on 087 6546 470 or send us an e-mail to [email protected].
