Anti-phishing Tip for National Cybersecurity Awareness Month

To wrap up National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, let’s talk about phishing. Unfortunately, we don’t mean the fun type you do with your friends on the lake.

Recognize and Report Phishing

Even with all of the best technology in the world to protect you, hackers are becoming more and more savvy everyday. They may try to trick you into sharing personal information through phishing scams – fraudulent e-mails, or texts that appear to be from legitimate companies or individuals.

The best way to protect yourself against these scams is to recognize the signs and report them immediately.

Here are a few common signs of a phishing scam:

• The sender’s e-mail address doesn’t perfectly match the company’s official domain (For example, instead of help@google.com, it may look like help.google@gmail.com)
• The message contains grammar or spelling errors (For example, spelling the name of the company “Googee” instead of Google)
• The message uses urgent language and asks for personal information (For example, you get an e-mail alert from “Google” saying you need to sign in immediately using this specific link or else all of your accounts will be deleted).
• The URL link provided for you to click goes to an alternate address instead of the legitimate URL (For example, the link points to www.paynow-wellsfar.go, rather than www.wellsfargo.com)

By following and sharing these quick and easy tips that we’ve shared this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, you’ll help keep yourself, and others safe online.