Cryptocurrencies are considered an easy source of money for some people. They think the crypto world is all about investing a sum of money and getting heavy returns every time. But this is completely wrong and anyone telling you this should not be considered. Technology around us is improving constantly with time and with it, criminals are also advancing themselves for getting what’s not there. Nowadays, it is a common practice that we hear from someone using the internet that he has received some bounty cash link or some other type of suspicious link that claim a huge reward in exchange for some information. Numerous ways to purchase bitcoins are available on significant cryptocurrency exchanges like Bitcoineer.
These are not rewards but a trap for getting your dear money out of your pocket. In the digital world of cryptocurrencies, Phishing attacks are becoming popular and more common. In this article, we are going to discuss some facts and figures about these Phishing attacks and will let you clear your doubts about the topic. So, let us start the discussion!
Phishing- The definition
Phishing refers to a cyberattack wherein the individual act like he is someone legit and tries to scam you out of your valuable information regarding your monetary deposits. The valuable information contains the pin of your ATM, sensitive bank details like usernames and passwords, and many more. The attacks can be seen in the form of emails pretending to be from your bank or some other association you have been transacting with. The email directs you to click on some external link and fill out some form to reply to the same. Every day thousands of people receive these types of emails and even this time if you open the spam folder of your email you will see emails full of pretensions.
Types of Phishing attacks
Though the motive behind a phishing attack is taking your information, these can be divided into some sub-headings.
Email phishing
In this type of phishing attack the scamster act like an agent of some bank or financial service you have been using for quite some time. The email is so well drafted that if some newbie has received it, it is almost impossible for him to recognize the real or the face one. These emails look authentic but take heavy information from you if feel for it. Though it is difficult to spot these emails as scams there are some clues like grammatical mistakes which easily put these emails on the red flag list.
Spear phishing
In email phishing the target audience is vast and many people receive these emails at a time. In spear phishing, the target is an individual or a company. The unique information of a person is used to target him and some people fall for it easily because it is hard to believe that these are scammers and not bogus people. The success rate of spear phishing is higher in comparison to email phishing.
Whaling
The sensitive information of a company or organization rests in the hand of top-level authority and this phishing attack targets these officials. The top-level employees need to remain vigilant about these attacks as anything can happen to the decorum of the company as well as to the individual itself. The main aim is to steal information, money, and crucial data related to the company.
How to avoid phishing attacks
The foremost method of avoiding these attacks is to acquaint oneself with the facts and figures related to them. The possible sources of attacks should be kept an eye on. You should not click any external link without verifying it. The installation of a firewall should be made mandatory on the server of a company or organization. Other methods rest with that experience and vigilance.
