Phishing is the name given to cyber fraud relating to an email/SMS message/phone call that is disguised to trick the user into clicking a link or open an attachment. This is done by the fraudster making the email something that you may want or need like, a request from your bank or a message from a friend/trusted person or even a company that you have dealings with.

Ultimately, the end goal is to gather personal information that the fraudster can use to commit fraud. Information such as Date of Birth, email password, payment card information etc. Phishing is a global problem and growing very fast in the internet world.

By taking certain precautions you can prevent one from falling prey to such attacks. In Phishing, it requires co-operation from the victim – it needs you to initiate some sort of action or provide sensitive information. Below are the steps through which you can follow to avoid such scams:

 

• Do not click on web links or attachments from senders that you do not recognize. Be especially wary of .zip or other compressed or executable file types.

• Do not provide sensitive personal information like usernames and passwords or payment card information such as, Full Card Number, Card PIN, CVV of card (3 -digit code written at the back side of the Card), Expiry date of Card, etc. over email.

• Watch for email senders and/or web links that use suspicious, misleading or look-alike similar domain names.

• If the email contains URLs (Web link/address), inspect URLs (Web link/address) carefully to make sure they’re legitimate and not imposter sites.

• Always access your bank website by typing the URL (Web link/address) in the address bar of your browser.

• If you can’t tell that an email is legitimate or not, please verify over the phone with the sender about it.

• Be cautious as intruders use real brand images and logos in Phishing Emails.

• If you get an email asking for personal or payment card information, please do not provide this information no matter how 'genuine' the page appears to be. Such pop-ups are most likely the result of malware infecting your computer. Please take immediate steps to disinfect your device.

• Any Financial Institution or their representative will never send you emails to get your personal information, password or OTP (One Time Password). Please do not provide any such information to anyone.

• A forged email address can sometimes be in the From field of an email. Always check if this address is from the legitimate source. If in doubt, contact the sender through your usual channels and never answer the e-mail.

• Phishing messages sometimes threaten consequences if you do not reply to the question.