Phishing Scams & Protecting Personal Information

CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS Spot the Phish. Protect Your Data. How to recognize phishing scams and protect personal information Phishing awareness · 1WHY IT MATTERS One convincing message can open the door. Attackers target people, not just systems. Awareness is the strongest defense you have. Phishing awareness · 2WHAT IS PHISHING Fraud that pretends to be someone you trust. Scammers use email, text, calls, or fake sites to trick you into sharing passwords, card numbers, or clicking harmful links. Phishing awareness · 3HOW IT WORKS Anatomy of a phishing attack 1 Bait A message arrives that looks like your bank, boss, or a delivery service. 2 Hook It creates urgency or curiosity so you act without thinking. 3 Click You open a link, attachment, or reply with details. 4 Steal Your credentials or money are taken, or malware is installed. Phishing awareness · 4TYPES Common kinds of phishing Type Channel How it works Email phishing Email Mass messages posing as known brands Spear phishing Email Personalized to you using real details Smishing SMS / chat Fake texts with links or urgent notices Vishing Phone call Caller pretends to be bank or support Phishing awareness · 5TYPES More ways attackers reach you Whaling Targets executives or finance staff with highvalue requests. Clone phishing A real message is copied and resent with a malicious link. Quishing A QR code leads to a fake login page. Fake sites Look-alike pages harvest anything you type. Phishing awareness · 6RED FLAG 1 Urgency and threats. “Act now or your account will be closed.” Pressure is designed to stop you from thinking. Slow down. Phishing awareness · 7RED FLAG 2 Suspicious senders and links Odd sender address The display name looks right but the real address is slightly off or from a free email service. Mismatched links Hover over a link before clicking. If the destination differs from the text, do not click. Shortened links Short URLs hide where you are really going. Phishing awareness · 8RED FLAG 3 Requests for sensitive information Passwords and PINs Real companies never ask for these by email, text, or phone. One-time codes Anyone asking you to read out a verification code is a scammer. Unexpected attachments Invoices or documents you did not expect may carry malware. Phishing awareness · 9RED FLAG 4 Too good to be true, or just sloppy Surprise prizes You won a contest you never entered, or a refund you never requested. Generic greetings “Dear customer” instead of your name. Errors and odd tone Spelling mistakes, strange formatting, or an unusual way of writing. Phishing awareness · 10