Phishing Meaning: Types and Prevention
Along with the advancements in digital technology, the rise in cyber crimes is also constant. Suppose you have ever received a suspicious email or a message claiming your account will be closed immediately, or you have an outstanding bill that needs to be repaid urgently, along with a link or a digital form to disclose your details. In that case, you may be the target of a phishing attack.
What does Phishing Mean?
A form of social engineering attack that deceives a person and attempts to get their personal, sensitive, or financial information for dangerous purposes like stealing funds, identity theft, or gaining access to private data is the most appropriate phishing meaning. It is often carried out by an attacker who poses as a trusted individual or an institution and uses social communication platforms such as messages, emails, or calls to create a false sense of urgency.
The emails or messages usually urge the victim to either open a malicious link, download an attachment, or wilfully disclose sensitive information like their credit card details, account details, etc.
The link, at first glance, looks authentic. Still, the moment a victim opens it, it leads to the installation of harmful malware, redirection to a fake website, or allows the attacker to freeze the system for a ransomware attack.
Anyone can incur losses from a phishing attack, be it a person or an organisation, if they are not careful enough while dealing with such emails or calls.
Types of Phishing Attacks
Now that you know what phishing is, here are the different types of phishings scams that are rampant in today’s world.
Email Phishings
An attacker creates a generic email identical to the emails sent out by legitimate organisations and adds a malicious link at the end of the email for the victim to click. They go to great lengths to ensure the email looks authentic, from the signatures, font, logo, and phrasing used by real organisations. However, the domain name for the email is usually slightly different.
Attackers randomly send thousands of such emails to people, hoping a few of them will fall for the scam and click on the links. Once the victim clicks on the link, the phishing attack starts, and the victim could lose money, personal details, or sensitive information to the attacker.
Spear Phishings
Spear phishing attempts are more targeted, as opposed to random phishing attacks. The attacker first identifies the victim, a person or an organisation, gathers sufficient information about them and then creates an email with authentic context and personalised information to make it look genuine.
The attacker could have hijacked the company’s database to extract valuable information and then form an email based on the company’s standard email template. The target is usually an organisation employee, and the email may contain references to co-workers, the latest project details, and more to make it more believable.
Smishing
Smishing is a phishing-scam attack that is carried out via text messages or SMS. The attacker sends out the message using a name similar to the authentic organisation and attaches a link for the victim to click. Read more…