What do you think a fishing attack looks like?

This?

Or maybe this?

Ugh. Not quite.

In this instance, we’re spelling “fishing” with a PH and it’s one of the most online scams around. 

Phishing happens like this

Your bank sends you an email. They want you to go in to your account and change your information. They’ve even included a helpful link that will take you directly to the appropriate page.

Great!

That email, however, is not from your bank. It’s from a fraudster on the internet.

And he’d created a compelling website that looked just like your bank’s website. When you click the link and follow the bank’s instructions, you are really providing the fraudster with all of your login credentials as well as any personal or financial information he has requested.

These kind of emails have gotten so ubiquitous in recent years that they’ve become a running gag.

We’ve all chuckled at the obvious spoof “Nigerian Prince wants to share his money” emails. How can anybody believe it?

Scammers have lulled you into a false feeling of security by convincing you that all phishing emails are so clear, making you considerably less likely to detect a better-executed effort.

In a 2015 poll, 97% of consumers said they couldn’t spot sophisticated phishing emails.

Furthermore, up to 77% of spear phishing assaults were found to target 10 or fewer persons, with a staggering 33% of attacks targeting only ONE person.

How many of those folks believed they were too intelligent to be duped?

Part of the issue is that many individuals are unaware of how individualized phishing can be. Typically, “phishers” will have previous information about you obtained from social media or other public databases.

They utilize this to design an email that seems too personalized to be a generic hoax, making it considerably more credible and likely to produce results.

And fraudsters are aware of this; according to an analysis of over 500,000 inboxes, 77% of phishing scams targeted 10 or fewer persons. Worryingly, 33% targeted just one.

So, what can we do to keep ourselves safe?

What can you do to be secure besides rejecting texts from pals and deleting everything your employer gives you without viewing it?

To begin, when you get an email, be certain that it is exactly what it claims to be.

Second, never visit any of the offered links. If someone asks you to log in, go to their website and log in from there. If you’re still skeptical, look for a valid phone number and contact the firm in question to inquire about the email. Customer security is important, and they will not be put off by being asked questions like these.

Third, if you really must click a link, double-check the URL of the website you’ve been sent to and make sure it corresponds to where you regularly login. Simply seeing a padlock in the URL is insufficient.

There are several methods that may deceive even individuals with a thorough grasp of URL schemes, so proceed with great care.

Phishing assaults are so named for a reason. Those behind them are often simply putting out a line and seeing who bites.

However, by being aware of how these types of scams work and practicing awareness, you make it significantly less likely that you will fall for the hook.

To be well-educated on additional actions to take to avoid these scams, Senior Technology Writer of Consumer Reports, Bree Fowler, walks us through her top 5 tips to avoid getting scammed while working from home.