Don’t Be Fooled By Phishing Scams

The internet has changed the world remarkably, and many of us do agree that the positive aspects of being online outweigh the negative factors. However, if we are to stay safe online and avoid being duped by fraudsters, it’s essential that we remain vigilant for scams at all times. Far too many people have fallen for phishing scams over recent years. Phishing scams are designed to fool us into handing over personal details, and they have been more and more sophisticated with the passing of time.

Fraudsters have become more cunning recently, and many people have found attempts to obtain information harder to spot. Whilst in the past, phishing scams tended to involve obviously dubious e-mails telling us we had won competitions that we hadn’t entered, or that we were due to inherit a great deal of money, more and more fraudsters are taking on the guise of big-name companies trusted by millions. Many people have been taken in by messages that they thought were sent to them by banks and other high-profile companies.

There are many steps we can take to avoid becoming victims of phishing scams. These include looking for signs that e-mails aren’t genuine. Misspelled words and dubious-looking e-mail addresses often give the game away. It’s wise to use anti-malware and spam filtering software and make sure it is updated automatically so you’re always one step ahead of the latest threats.

The instant online loan company Wonga South Africa is just one organisation that has been hit by phishing scams over recent years, with other big-name victims including Neftlix, PayPal and HMRC. These companies have adopted a pro-active approach to the situation, with Wongar setting up a fraud hotline. A large number of their customers have received highly-convincing e-mails about new loans with low interest rates. Fraudsters often strike in the run-up to Christmas, when times can be tight, and many Wonga customers have been tricked into handing over their details during the final months of the year when extra cash is needed. Customers were asked to pay upfront fees to take advantage of the rates the fraudsters claimed were on offer, only to realise they had been duped into parting with their cash later.

The lender told its customers that they have a policy of never asking for payments to access their products and offers. Many customers were fooled due to authentic, professional look of the messages they received – some phishing scams involve amateurish e-mails with poor quality graphics and grammatical errors, but the scammers had gone the extra mile to convince customers to hand over their money. Many messages will ask you to click a link to reach a bogus website that resembles the official site.

Companies including Wonga and Netflix tell their customers to report dubious messages as soon as they receive them. Many big-name companies have had problems with phishing e-mails – the more well-known a company is, the more likely it is they will be hit by phishing scams, with criminals exploiting the trust their customers have in them. It’s wise to be vigilant for scams when you’re offline too – scammers can reach their targets via the telephone and the postal service as well as their inboxes.