Phishing and Fraudulent Emails: Don't Get Caught | Free Antivirus

Attention is the number one line of defense in protecting against phishing: Read Part 1 of the Anti-Phishing Strategy.

You should pay particular attention to:

·         Check the Sender's Email Address. HTTP: //sparkasse-frankfurt.de@241.128.219.013 does not lead to the Sparkasse, but to a fraud site that is hidden behind the ominous IP address after the @.

·         Checking Links and Redirects. Emails with redirects and links that lead to other pages and appear unusual in the overall picture of the other factors should be viewed with caution and should be deleted immediately without opening. If you go over the link with your mouse over, you will see e.g. B. relatively quickly based on the destination URL that this cannot be a legitimate e-mail. Also, check whether the target page is HTTPS-secured and the certificate is correct.

·         Be Careful with Email Attachments! Attachments are one of the most skillful strategies and traps used by phishing scammers. Attachments with supposedly serious content such as “new terms and conditions”, “your invoice” or “last reminders” often contain Trojans that have the purpose of installing spy software after opening. This will suck all the customer data you want from your computer in no time at all.

What can you do? Move the mouse pointer over the attachment and display the properties. If the file types are .exe, .com, .bat, .cmd, .vbs, .js and also zip, it is better to delete the e-mail - there is a lot to suggest that the attachment is malicious software with Trojans, viruses, worms and contains something similar.

·         Be Careful with Log-In or Bank Connection Queries! E-mails from known and/or unknown providers that immediately request login data or bank details and credit card numbers are almost 100% fraudulent and should be deleted immediately without opening.

·         The Email Header Reveals the Sending Server! A fraudulent e-mail can forge the sender address, but not the digital transmission route - the header of an e-mail reveals the server via which the message reached the recipient. This is how you can display the header for your mail account:

Thunderbird: View-> Header-> All
Outlook : View-> Options-> Message Options
Apple Mail : View- > E-Mail-> All Headers
Web.de and gmx.de: "i" next to the date display
Yahoo : Actions-> entire header area
Gmail: show original

Example:
From: smtp-out-123-… dienstleistungs.com -> delivering server
by mx.google.com… .. -> receiving server
for <…@gmail.com>

·         Phishing Protection Software

All common antivirus software manufacturers have also integrated appropriate phishing protection, here is a small selection:

AVG
Avira
Protegent Free Antivirus

Bitdefender
McAfee
Kaspersky

Companies and Organizations Against Phishing and Cybercrime - You Can Help

Phishing is a major nuisance for internet users and consumers. The companies on whose behalf these phishing emails are written are also in trouble, for example with regard to damage to their image and loss of trust. Some corporate initiatives have set themselves the goal of combating phishing and cybercrime - a difficult battle.

The Anti-Phishing Working Group is a global association of companies and organizations from different countries, which has set itself the goal of bringing experiences with phishing to a knowledge platform and taking counter-initiatives. Users can also bring in and share their phishing story there and contribute to a phishing trend report.