There's been an alarming number of phishing scams
identified this year and these emails are getting more clever and realistic
than ever.
The latest phishing
email you need to keep an eye out for disguises itself as an
iTunes email. Much like the Amazon phishing scam we showed you, this email
claims that you have been overcharged for a download purchase, $25 for one
song, which is usually $1.99 or less, or $45 for the Netflix app.
The email will show you a very official-looking billing
statement and will encourage you to click a link that says, "Cancel
andx Manage Subscriptions." But, because you're a
Komando.com reader, you'll notice the typo in the link and know that's red flag
number one.
Whatever you do, don't click that link. It could take you to
a malicious site that can steal all of your valuable information, then it's
game over.
If you think you really might have been overcharged, check
your bank statements first before clicking any links.
Just being in the know about these emails is step one. There
are other steps you can take to keep yourself safe from these phishing
attempts. If you see an email like this in your inbox:
- Be sure to exercise caution before you click on anything.
Hover over any links and see where they direct before you click. If the links
provided go to a website, don't click it. Navigate to the company's site
yourself without the link.
- Take some time and try to spot the typos.
- If you're not sure that you can spot the signs, click here
to take our phishing IQ test to see how many stand out to you.
- Practice multi-level authentication, which means you have
at least two forms of verification, such as a password and a security question
before you log into any sensitive accounts.
- Another thing is to have an internet security system. We
recommend our sponsor Kaspersky Lab. Software from Kaspersky Lab can recognize
and block ransomware. Even if it's a new version or unknown version of a
ransomware, Kaspersky Lab can figure out that the program is doing something it
shouldn't. Kaspersky Lab will stop it from running and will roll back any files
that were encrypted to a previous non-encrypted version. Of course, Kaspersky
Lab software also helps filter out and warn you about phishing scams, so your
odds of downloading a ransomware virus are slim. Get this protection, and so
much more, with Kaspersky Total Security.
