Don’t be a Phishing Victim!

Cyber security experts tell us that hackers are becoming more sophisticated at getting us to fall for their bogus emails and tricks.  Since success is its own incentive, expect that in 2019 the problem will get worse and more of us will fall victim.

The good news is that learning about the techniques used by “phishers” can help us identify deception and protect our Personal Identifying Information (PII).  Here are 5 tips to protect yourself from phishing.

  1. If you click into an email with one of these subject lines, you may be at risk…
    • Your Password Has Been Changed
    • Delivery Status Update
    • Someone Viewed Your Profile
    • Free Pizza!

Hackers know these are some of the most-clicked email subject lines. They use messages that give us a sense of urgency so we will be tricked into opening their phishing emails. Think twice about clicking ANY links or attachments. 

  1. Beware!  In 2018 more online accounts were compromised than ever before.  Criminals are getting better at focusing on individuals who manage sensitive information.  Phishing attempts may target businesses and employees to access your company’s – and your customers’ – information.
  2. Meeting scheduling links are another trick.  Work isn’t the only place you may get an email with a link to a scheduling app. Nonprofits may use them to schedule a volunteer meeting and friends may use them to plan a get-together.

If you receive an email with a link to a scheduling app, make sure the email is from a person you know, then hover over the link to verify before you click. If in doubt, call or email the person it appears to be from to confirm they sent the request.

  1. Americans received more than 26 Billion spam and robocalls in 2018.  More than half the calls to our mobile devices are predicted to be spam. The mobile industry is starting to roll out a solution to number spoofing, which disguises the actual caller number with a local extension.

The best advice is to simply not answer calls from numbers you do not recognize, even if it appears to be from your neighborhood. If you do answer and it’s a robocall or scammer, hang up. Do not give out any personal information to someone who calls you, and do not agree to do anything in haste. Scammers create a sense of urgency because they know if you stop to think, you probably won’t fall for their tricks.

  1. Let’s just admit it: we’re all bad at passwords!  We use the same ones over and over because they are easy to remember. And we don’t change passwords frequently because it gets too confusing.  The good news is that
    • Google’s “Checkup,” a Chrome extension, will warn you if your passwords are included among known compromised passwords. 
    • IDShield also offers a free password manager called IDShield Vault.  You need to remember one password and the system fills in secure passwords for each site and account.

Remember, anytime you get a suspicious email or phone call, and you aren’t sure what you should do, contact your Identity Theft Protection Investigators. They can help you identify a scam and offer advice for other steps you can take to help protect your personal information and your identity.

If you don’t have Identity Theft Protection, get more information from:

Mary Fritsch-Derrick

IDShield Independent Associate

805-551-8083

mfderrick@legalshieldassociate.com

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