What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of ad fraud in which third party websites or emails pretending to be from reputable companies are created in an attempt to trick victims into providing personal data and sensitive information.

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According to a survey, 97% of consumers were unable to identify phishing links and emails.
 

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How does Phishing work?

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1. Third-party websites are created by the fraudster which is very similar to the existing genuine websites, these could be a search engine or an e-commerce website. They are designed so well that it is very difficult for a targeted user to distinguish them from the original website.

2. The next step involves luring the targets into using visiting the fake platform. This is done by circulating the links through emails/ text messages and even social media.

3. Vulnerable consumers might not check the entire URL in detail and just open the link sent across by glancing at it.

4. These links are deceptive and look very similar to the original link but then the targets are redirected to the phishing website. To make it look more authentic the fake website might even use the real name and logos with minor tweaks.

5. The targets end up entering sensitive information and credentials on the website and they are then copied/ sent to the fraudster who uses this data later.

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Precaution?

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The user must be very careful while entering credentials especially of financial nature into any website. The URL must be thoroughly seen and verified to avoid entering sensitive information in the wrong places. Another great tip is to delete any unknown or suspicious links that are received via e-mails/ text messages so they are not accessed later on.