HomeWhat is a Phishing Email? How to recognize Phishing Email

What is a Phishing Email? How to recognize Phishing Email

What you need to know to recognize a phishing email. Research conducted by a leading internet security company shows that too many people still click on links in phishing emails. It is not very strange, however. Why do many phishing emails seem so professional they sometimes make even very experienced computer users questionable?

However, some very specific features cause phishing emails to all make the same mistake. Because a phishing email can always be recognized by these characteristics. Being able to recognize a phishing email isn’t an unnecessary luxury. Because it is not possible not to deal with phishing emails.

What is phishing and how to recognize a phishing email?

Phishing occurs when someone sends you an email inviting you to do something, like clicking a link, with the aim of stealing sensitive data. However, this is only one of the features that allow you to recognize a suspicious, phishing email. There are others. And these are:

1) Request for sensitive data

More precisely, the cybercriminal is fishing for your data which he can use to enrich himself while harming you. The term phishing, therefore, refers to the action of the cybercriminal who can be classified as a fisherman or something. This is the most important feature of any form of phishing. The data that are fished are:

  • Sensitive personal information.
  • Bank account details.
  • PIN codes.
  • Passwords.

2) They appear to come from reputable companies or agencies

Additionally, emails and phishing messages often appear to come from companies and organizations that can be trusted, such as bs too.

  • Credit card company.
  • Taxes.
  • Other public and government agencies.

3) Respond to your fear

Another clear feature of a typical phishing mail is that the mail responds to your fear of something. For example:

  • That your checking account will be blocked if you don’t do something right now, or if you don’t click the link in the email immediately.
  • That your credit card will be blocked if once again you don’t do something immediately.
  • That the fine will be higher or that your account will be seized if you don’t pay immediately now.

4) Not addressed to you personally

The last thing you can almost always recognize a phishing email immediately is that the email is rarely addressed to you personally. In other words, the email rarely or almost never contains your name. Instead, the greeting is often- dear….

5) The link does not point to the sender’s website

Many e-mail programs show at the bottom of the window exactly what a link in the e-mail refers to. If the email is really from the entity or company that the email is claimed to come from, the displayed URL of the link must at least match the URL normally used by the company or business website. body.

This means that if a phishing email claims to be from ABN-AMRO, the link URL must contain at least https://www.abnamro.nl.

The newsletters you have subscribed to and receive regularly, for this reason, are an exception. To create newsletters, online newsletter software is often used which also takes care of sending them. As a result, the URL that the link points to can also look a bit odd.

6) Authorization is required

More and more often you are asked for permission when you are at your computer or on the Internet. The best-known example is asking for permission to place cookies on your PC.

You may also be asked for authorization via a phishing email. For example, you may be tempted to click a link on a website to give your consent to install certain software on your computer.

And you probably already suspected it: a virus or other malicious software will actually be installed on your PC.

I opened a phishing email, now what?

How to check a suspicious email? If an e-mail contains one or more of the characteristics just described, it can be assumed that you are dealing with a phishing e-mail. By the way, opening a phishing email is fine. Until you click a link in the email or open a possible attachment attached to the email.

Also, it is of course advisable to mark and delete any phishing emails you receive as junk emails. Keep in mind that an email is permanently deleted from your PC only after emptying the trash of your email program.

If you are unsure whether it is phishing mail or not, it is best to simply make a phone call to the company or organization from which the email or message originated. But you can also contact the anti-fraud siteThe anti-fraud website always offers a nice overview of the latest phishing emails

The Anti-Fraud site aims to prevent citizens and companies from becoming victims of fraud in all forms as much as possible.

Where can I report phishing? How to defend yourself from scam emails?

How to recognize dangerous e-mails and report an IT crime online to the Police? What to do in case of fake emails? Phishing cannot be stopped for the moment. However, we can all ensure that as few people as possible fall victim to phishing emails. This can be done by reporting phishing.

You may always be one of the first people to receive a new type of phishing mail. And the sooner a new phishing email is known, the fewer people will be affected.

In any case, it is advisable to report phishing to the Postal Police. Because they immediately alert you as soon as something new in the field of phishing and other fraudulent issues appears.

If an email you receive looks like an email from your bank or credit card company but turns out to be a phishing email, report it immediately. But always check your bank or credit card company’s website first to see if the phishing email you received has already been reported.

If you are careful about what you receive in emails and from whom and have a healthy degree of suspicion, you will certainly not be a victim of phishing.

This last tip will definitely help recognize an infected, phishing email. And this tip is- Always ask yourself if you have provided the email address to the bank, institution, or agency you are receiving the email from, if you haven’t it could be a phishing email.

If you accidentally become a victim of phishing, act as soon as possible and ask the Postal Police what you should do.

author image

About Author

Samuel Afolabi is a lazy tech-savvy that loves writing almost all tech-related kinds of stuff. He is the Editor-in-Chief of TechVaz. You can connect with him socially :)

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.