Tax season has begun and while many of us can’t wait for our refunds – this is also a time of the year when cybercriminals are waiting to attack.
“While we have become wiser with email spams and scams, cybercriminals are, however, in the perfect position to ‘fine tune’ their attacks. If one doesn’t work, they simply adapt, improve and spam it out again,” said Carey van Vlaanderen, CEO at ESET South Africa.
Spear-phishing attacks use personal information to convince people they are legitimate – and are far slicker and more convincing than poorly spelt spam emails comedians used to laugh about.
Worried you’re being phished? Look at the bait.
Look at who the email is from. It’s possible to fake any email address, but not all phishers are this clever – they may use a random email address that gives the game away. Check the link that you’re supposed to click by hovering your mouse over it to display a pop-up message with the real link in it. Look closely. Does the address make sense? If any alarm bells start to ring, don’t click.
Tax returns, invoices, wedding invitations – cybercriminals use them all
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Be extra careful around short URLs
If there isn’t a cap on the number of letters, why has someone shortened the link? You cannot take it for granted that URL shortening services are redirecting you to trustworthy websites.
Telephone numbers are not a guarantee an email is real
Do not trust professional looking emails where there is a phone contact number – this can be another cybercriminal trick. The number may well work, but you will be connected to a scammer instead of the company you’re hoping to speak to – and they will attempt to fool you.
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