The Rise of Phishing Attacks and How to Protect Yourself

Recently, there has been a huge rise in phishing attacks because, to put it bluntly, they work. According to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), 1.09 million phishing attacks were recorded in the second quarter of 2022.

It is becoming necessary to learn what phishing attacks entail as phishing attacks are rising continuously. The most common way for attackers to deliver ransom is through phishing, which is the fastest-growing form of malware.

Phishing prevention is becoming increasingly important as more criminals use online scams to steal your personal information. Phishing emails can look falsely credible, even though we’ve learned to dodge them. Few of them are even created specifically for you. You have to know the red flags, as you will likely be exposed to a phishing attack eventually. We know scams are nothing new in this digital world, but phishing is harder to spot than you might think.

The best way to protect yourself from phishing attacks is by learning how to recognize them and implementing cybersecurity solutions to keep yourself safe from these types of attacks.

This guide will help you and your organization prevent, detect, and protect themselves against phishing attacks. You must be wondering what a phishing attack is. Who is at risk? How can you prevent them? No worries! This guide has answers to all your questions.

Let’s proceed!

What is a Phishing Attack?

A sophisticated social engineering attack that is created to steal the sensitive information of the victim, such as credit cards or social security numbers, is a phishing attack. To make the email look like it comes from trusted sources, most phishing attacks take the form of disguised emails. The subject line of that mail generally carries an urgent message in which it is required to drive immediate action, for instance, a notice that an account has been compromised or that a service is about to be suspended.

The main aim of the attacker is to alarm the recipient and prompt immediate action, mainly by downloading an attachment or clicking on a link without thinking about what they’re doing. That one click can result in a malware infection, which can lead to your private information being stolen.

Who is At Risk of Phishing Attacks?

Phishing can negatively affect anyone of any age, whether in their workplace or personal lives.
Nowadays, everyone from the elderly to young children is using internet devices. A scammer can find your contact information publicly and add it to their phishing list.

It is harder to hide your phone number, email address, online messaging IDs, and social media accounts nowadays. So, there is a good chance that just having one of these makes you a target. Plus, phishing attacks can be broad or highly targeted in the people they choose to trick.

Tips to Prevent Phishing Attacks

Don’t click on any unsure link

It is usually advisable not to click on a link in an email or instant message, even if you know the sender. The bare minimum you should be doing is hovering over the link to see if the destination is correct. Most phishing attacks are fairly sophisticated, and the destination URL can look like a carbon copy of the genuine site; this can be set up to record keystrokes or steal login or credit card information. If it is possible for you to go directly to the site with the help of your search engine instead of clicking on the link, then you should do so.

Have free anti-phishing add-ons

We are living in the digital world, where browsers will enable you to download add-ons that spot the signs of a malicious website or alert you about known phishing sites. They are mostly completely free, so there is no reason not to have this installed on every device in your business.

Restrict sharing your information with an unsecured site

It is advisable not to enter any of your personal information or download files from the site if the URL of the website doesn’t start with “HTTPS” or if you cannot see a closed padlock icon next to the URL. It is not necessary that the sites without security certificates are always intended for phishing scams, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Rotate passwords regularly

It is necessary to develop the habit of rotating your passwords on a regular basis if you have an online account. This will help you prevent an attacker from gaining unlimited access. Password rotation adds an extra layer of protection as your accounts may have been compromised without you knowing, and this can prevent ongoing attacks and lock out potential attackers.

Use multi-factor authentication (MFA)

You can enhance your cybersecurity automatically by enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all of your accounts. With the help of multi-factor authentication, users are required to identify themselves by more than just their username and password. This will automatically make stealing your information harder for the attacker. Although you have to be careful of phishing threats that pretend to ask for your authentication code, You don’t have to share it, as this will give them access to your account.

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Steps to Follow If You’ve Been a Victim of a Phishing Attack

Step 1: Turn off your internet from your device

To reduce the chance of phishing spreading to your other devices that are on the same network, it is advisable to disconnect your device from the internet. Apart from this, it will also restrict someone from remotely accessing your device or using it to send out sensitive information. It is of utmost importance to take this step right away to secure all your devices.

Step 2: Keep an eye on your credit report for suspicious activity

It is necessary to have a keen eye on your credit card accounts or sensitive information that can be used to gain access to your credit as it is possible that the attacker may have gained access to your credit card accounts or sensitive information. You may even freeze your credit card instantly. A credit freeze will help prevent the attacker from being able to open new accounts using your name.

Step 3: Contact the company or person that was being impersonated by the attacker

Letting the company know that an attacker is impersonating them is important in keeping you, the company, and their customers and employees safe from also falling victim. They may also be able to provide you with instructions on how to safeguard the information on your account.

In Conclusion

While phishing can be a difficult area to tackle at times, by following the above-mentioned simple tips and advice and embracing proper phishing prevention tools, you can minimize your risk of falling victim to digital scammers.

The Sennovate Plus gives you the visibility you need to determine when your own users become security threats. If a user clicks on a phishing link, and their account starts exhibiting unusual behavior, Sennovate Plus can detect and respond in real time with automated threat response templates.

If you would like to see how Sennovate Security Platform can help you identify and prevent data breaches from phishing attacks, Contact us right now!

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About Sennovate

Sennovate delivers custom identity and access management (IAM) and managed security operations center (SOC) solutions to businesses around the world. With global partners and a library of 2000+ integrations, 10M+ identities managed, we implement world-class cybersecurity solutions that save your company time and money. We offer a seamless experience with integration across all cloud applications, and a single price for product, implementation, and support. Have questions? The consultation is always free. Email [email protected] or call us at +1 (925) 918-6565.