We help you protect yourself against online fraud attempts that are increasingly arriving in our e-mail inboxes.
Fraud attempts are intensifying even more at this time of the year, mainly through e-mail and taking advantage of the fact that many people let their guard down in the face of these attacks and can fall into the trap more easily.
But, what is “Phishing”?
It is a form of online fraud with which cybercriminals try to send us malicious programs to steal our data and obtain economic benefits with this information. In order to carry out these actions, they usually contact us with false identities and manipulative messages that take advantage of people’s good faith, willingness to help or even fear, through sophisticated social engineering.
Cybercriminals like to impersonate our friends or acquaintances.
In order to trick us, it is very common to receive messages with the identity of friends, co-workers, relatives, customers, suppliers, etc., often with attachments that may seem legitimate (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.), but which are actually programs that when executed open the doors to cybercriminals to steal our data.
On other occasions, it is also possible to receive a message on behalf of official institutions (e.g. Post Office), banks and banks or on-line commerce websites (such as Amazon, Paypal, etc.), which appear to be legitimate and are somehow asking us to reset our password or enter our data for verification. Be very careful on these occasions!
The quality of “Phishing” is evolving
In the past, it was easier to identify this type of messages, as they were poorly written or translated into Spanish, had spelling mistakes and the design of the messages was not very careful or professional. Nowadays, these messages have evolved to the point of being practically perfect, with no spelling mistakes and with a look that seems totally genuine and makes it very difficult to recognize them as fake.
Please be very cautious
If you receive a message via e-mail or from a web page, please be cautious before taking any action. If it is an attempt to defraud you, the best defense and protection is to do nothing at all in response to such messages.
It is important that you do not open any attachments to the message or click on any links or download options, otherwise you could put your computer at great risk or even cripple it.
What to do when faced with a suspicious message?
Never click on the links in the message, even if it is to unsubscribe unless we have requested you to do so.
Do not open or download the attached files, most likely it is a malicious program that would be installed on our computer without us realizing it.
Do not reply or forward the message.
And most importantly, NEVER provide usernames, passwords and other personal data on websites that seem suspicious to you.
Be wary
In times of crisis, cybercriminals take advantage and abuse the state of emergency of the Coronavirus, the current situation we are living, the insecurity of users, the teleworking work situation… all of them are situations that are unusual and that can make us fall into the trap more easily.
In fact, scammers who take advantage of the Coronavirus, can also act through social networks, SMS messages, phone calls or even knock on your door.
How do cybercriminals act during this crisis?
With “official” information about the coronavirus, a subscription to a newsletter, through an attachment or a web link.
With offers of high-demand products, such as face masks, Coronavirus detection tests…
With a request for a donation for the development of a supposed vaccine.
With financial investment products that offer high profitability.
With installation of free software for teleworking
With a request for passwords to participate in videoconferences
With a download of a security update for teleworking
What else can I do in such a situation?
As we have already said, the most important thing is not to trust and do nothing. If possible, we should bring it to the attention of the authorities so that they can prosecute and put an end to this type of scam.
If you already believe that your computer may have been attacked or infected and you need help, please contact us through our web contact form, and our team of specialists will advise you.