PHISHING scams remain a constant threat to the public the South African Police Serice announced earlier today.
It is for this reason that the SAPS have issued a number of tips on how to deal with or avoid these scams.
Phishing is an email-based attack when a malicious email is sent to you with the purpose of you disclosing sensitive information about yourself or the SAPS. It is also the most common means of obtaining information to attack an organisation or unsuspecting users.
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SAPS warned that the fake emails can look legitimate.
Follow the following tips to avoid falling victim to phishing scams.
- Do not trust poorly written emails with spelling errors or incorrect grammar.
- Do not click on any links in such emails. Rather navigate directly to the website in question.
- If you are uncertain about the authenticity of an email rather ask your service provider directly whether it is valid or not.
- If possible, visit the company personally or phone the customer contact centres number of their official website (remember not to trust phone numbers in a suspicious email!)
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- Only provide personal or financial information through an organisation’s website when you have typed in the web address yourself and had seen indicators that the site is secure, such as an URL that begins with “https” (the “s” stands for secure). Unfortunately, an indicator is not a total guarantee that a site is secure; some phishers use forged security icons.
- Review your credit card and bank account statements as soon as you receive them to check for unauthorized charges. If your statement is late by more than a couple of days, call the bank to confirm your billing address and account balances.
- Be cautious about opening attachments and downloading files from emails, regardless of who sent them. These files might contain viruses or other malware that can weaken your computers security.
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