Most people in the world have been reliant on email notifications for updates about their bank accounts, social media, and advertisements such as discounts and e-coupons like Personal Information. However, there are several cases recently of people getting their information stolen because of the updates they receive from their email account.
Phishing is on the rise. With people working at home and sending information back and forth via email, it can be challenging to check if the content came from a reputable source. So how will you know if you’re being phished?
Companies Never Request For Personal Information
Before moving to our first checklist, let’s get to know what is phishing. This fraudulent act is an attempt to acquire personal information using any forms of electronic communication. Such ways could be in the form of ads, email, or any content that requires you to download software or provide personal information.
Always remember that reputable business institutions, such as banks, have strict privacy laws. They will never ask for your Social Security and tax numbers or even credit card information. If the email content requires you to submit this, you need to report it immediately to the company it pretends to come from!
Companies Call You By Your Name
Though some companies send templates, emails from large corporations always greet you with your family name or complete name. Beware of emails starting with Dear madam/sir or Dear valued customer. They may be phishing emails. Always remember that companies will call you if they ever need your personal information.
Companies Use Proper Grammar
A legitimate organization’s emails undergo several revisions and proofreading. They make sure not to send emails with tons of grammatical errors and typos. Therefore, reading is an essential part of identifying whether the email’s content is meant for phishing. If you see a lot of these errors, report them immediately, or ignore them.
Companies Never Send Random Attachments
Customers often receive emails with attachments on them, especially ones that come from restaurants and online stores. However, they always give you a preview of the e-coupon or code in the email’s content. If this happens, always check the online store to look for any announcements about a promo.
For forms from other business institutions, customers are usually asked to download files from the company’s legitimate website. Sometimes, the attachments are only sent after a few replies with a legit company email. If the first email sent to you already has attachments, they might be files to fill in your personal information from phishers.
Companies Never Force You to Click Anything
Always read the email through and through. Look for ways to read the entire content without clicking anything in the email. Phishers may have put hyperlinks anywhere in the email’s content.
Accidentally clicking it will lead you to open a fake website or download software that could potentially put your device in danger. Opening these downloads will allow phishers to get your personal information. If you had downloaded them, just make sure to never open them unless you had it verified from the company it claims to come from.
Companies Always Use Their Customer Support Email for your Personal Information
Always pay attention to the email address. Most phishing emails are made closely similar to the email addresses of reputable companies. They add a few punctuations or letters in them. So always double-check from the emails previously sent to you or check their website for their customer support email.
Takeaway of Secure Personal Information
It’s never easy to identify if an email is for phishing, but with the checklist above, all you have to do is use your ability to read and spot the difference. Keep these pointers in mind, and you will be able to keep your personal data secured.