For more tips on how to recognize phishing attempts, see this fun blog post from Avira: Phishing attacks: Steps to stay safe.ĭidn’t read the above and clicked on a link or opened an infected attachment? Or is your machine running outdated software in urgent need of security patches? There are so many ways that malware can infest your device. Chances are that you haven’t suddenly won an iPad or a Caribbean cruise, and a foreign prince doesn’t want to give you his fortune. Plus, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Also look out for spelling and grammar mistakes and hover over the sender’s email to reveal their true IP address. Be vigilant and train your eyes to spot a scam fast! If an email is unsolicited, requests personal information (usually urgently), and contains suspicious links or attachments, don’t respond. These will quickly be hoovered up by a malicious third party, possibly granting them access to your email or other online accounts. You could also be redirected to a fake website where you’re prompted to enter your login details. Clicking on any links in the email could result in malware being downloaded onto your machine. During a phishing attack, an “imposter” email is sent that looks like it comes from a legitimate source, such as Amazon or PayPal. This technique is popular because it’s affordable, requires relatively simple skills (although many hackers could do with a grammar lesson), and takes advantage of the weakest link in any online defense system: you, the user (sorry). The most common way that emails are stolen is through phishing attempts. Hackers tend to favor four devious methods, so the chances are high that you fell victim to one of these. If there was a guidebook called “How to Hack Emails”, it would have four main sections. Let’s start at the very beginning: How your email account may have been compromised in the first place. (If you’re in the mood for some sobering statistics, see the Independent’s Live Company Data Breaches and Stats for 2023 ). Your confidential details, including email address and passwords, are hot property and cybercriminals are becoming increasingly creative at getting their hands on them.
2023 started with reports of over 200 million email addresses allegedly stolen from social media users and leaked on underground hacker forums-and this is far from an isolated incident.
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