The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is supporting Cyber Security Awareness Month with tips aimed at protecting identities online from attacks from scammers known as ‘phishing’.
‘Phishing’ involves contacting victims via e-mail in the hopes of spreading viruses and collection personal information that can later be used to fraud them and steal their identity.
Scammers are able to lure victims through various means – clicking on phony links or opening harmful attachments.
The BBB recommends that users be wary of e-mail phishing scams and offers the following tips:
- Only open e-mails, attachments, and links from people who you recognize
- Use anti-virus software regularly and enhance e-mail filters to block threats
- Grammatical mistakes and spelling errors are telltale signs of scams
- Watch out for e-mails masquerading as official releases from companies
- Avoid sharing personal information in an e-mail
- Be careful of any messages in e-mails that urge users to perform certain actions like clicking on links
- Double check URLs to see where they lead – you can do this by hovering over the link to display the address
- If you’re unsure about the legitimacy of an email, contact the company directly through contact information on a bill statement
- Maintain your computer system with the latest operating system, software, web browsers, and anti virus protection.
For more information, you can go to the Better Business Bureau’s website.