We\u2019ve all received the classic email from a “foreign investor” promising to transfer millions of dollars into our bank account.<\/p>\n
These fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information – known as\u00a0phishing scams<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0– are getting more sophisticated.<\/p>\n Athena Turner, brand manager at Hetzner, told MyBroadband that there are several key steps users must take to avoid becoming a victim to a scam and sharing their personal or account details.<\/p>\n These details include email addresses as well as banking details, as phishing scams want to steal your access details because of what this information unlocks.<\/p>\n There are a few telltale signs of a phishing scam. Once you understand the methods used, you\u2019ll be able to guard against them, said Turner.<\/p>\n A phishing scam essentially works like a con job: someone has to convince you that they\u2019re reliable before they try to steal from you.<\/p>\n This is most often done through fake emails that look like they come from a trusted source and ask you to click on a link to a website.<\/p>\n The website will be designed to look legitimate and from a service provider you\u2019re likely to use. It will also ask for user information.<\/p>\n Once the information is obtained, it can be used for identity theft, financial theft, or fraud.<\/p>\n It\u2019s easy enough for phishers to copy a real company logo, and even fake the “From” email address to look like it comes from a trusted source.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t trust the display name, as those are easily changed to mask the real email address.<\/p>\n Phishers can use links in emails to obscure the actual URL, which takes you to a fake account.<\/p>\n Requests like your bank suspending your account unless you click on “this link” is an example.<\/p>\n A trusted company will give you the full URL in the text, not a link.<\/p>\n The safest thing to do is type out the URL in your browser, rather than clicking on it.<\/p>\n Reputable companies have copywriters to check their emails, so if you\u2019re noticing bad grammar and typos, be on the alert.<\/p>\n Similarly, check the URL of the company for misspellings or strange versions of the URL (www.hetznerZA.com<\/strong>\u00a0instead of\u00a0www.hetzner.co.za,<\/strong> for example).<\/p>\n A common phishing tactic is spreading\u00a0viruses<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and malware through attachments, which can damage files or steal passwords from your computer.<\/p>\n The best defence, along with following the tips above, is to follow basic security practices.<\/p>\n Here are tips on\u00a0how to change a mail password<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t reply, click on links or call phone numbers in these emails.<\/p>\n Email is not a secure enough method to send personal or financial information – rather call through the information where possible, or split it up over email and text messages.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re transferring large sums into someone\u2019s bank account, always verify their banking details telephonically first.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to check your credit card and bank statements as soon as you receive them to check for suspicious or unauthorized charges.<\/p>\n A reputable company won\u2019t cold call you and ask you to give them your password over the phone. This technique can be successful because people will share details over the phone when they\u2019re in a hurry.<\/p>\n Athena Turner, brand manager at Hetzner, outlines 4 ways to spot a phishing scam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":145869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[15227,35,1065,417],"class_list":["post-287230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security","tag-cybersecurity","tag-headline","tag-hetzner","tag-phishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287230"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":289892,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287230\/revisions\/289892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nHow to identify phishing scams<\/h3>\n
1. Don\u2019t trust the logo or email address<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Be suspicious of urgent requests<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Check for typos or spelling mistakes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Don\u2019t open unexpected attachments<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\nSimple ways to prevent being scammed<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\nNow read:\u00a0Two R100,000 fines issued for not preventing WASP fraud<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"