so you can recognize and report them
Phishing poses a major risk in your mailbox. Some fake e-mails are so well designed that you would almost believe them, and before you know it, malicious people will be stealing your personal data. We explain how to recognize phishing and how to report such e-mails in your mailbox and at the Fraud Helpdesk.
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Recognize Phishing
Many internet users have already received a suspicious e-mail or a strange text message. An example from last year: people then received an email that supposedly came from WhatsApp. The email contains a request that the WhatsApp user identify himself via a form, which would be necessary to continue using the messaging app. The e-mail forwarded you to a fake WhatsApp webpage where you can enter data, which you will of course not provide to Meta, but to unknown fraudsters.
In other words, phishing is online identity theft. In even more serious cases, not only will your personal information be stolen, but you will also get malware on your phone or PC by clicking a wrong link. Unfortunately, phishing is also a common form of fraud, the Fraud Helpdesk said in its 2021 report.
Pay attention to these 3 things
The best way to protect yourself against phishing or any form of online fraud is to take a critical look at emails, websites and links you come across online. You also do the following three things:
- watch the spelling and grammar of the email. It often happens that the message simply goes through Google Translate, or you have to deal with fraudsters who are not that familiar with the dt rule.
- Watch it email address of the phishing email. For example, a fake email that supposedly comes from Ziggo would end with: ‘@z1ggo.com’, instead of ‘ziggo.com’.
- When in doubt about the authenticity of an email contact the company that may or may not have sent the email. Don’t do that by replying to the email, but try calling or chatting with the support service. If it indeed concerns fraud, then the company is immediately aware of the facts. In that case, it can warn its customers about the fake emails.
Report Phishing
Once you’ve spotted a phishing email, it’s time for a citizenship test. If you report the fraud to competent authorities, you also help to warn others about the attack. You may have discovered the forgery, but an 83-year-old old lady is trapped after you. We discuss three ways to report phishing.
1. Via your email provider
This is an important step. Your mailbox already has a spam filter and sometimes you will also see warning messages when a tool such as Outlook or Gmail suspects fraud. By reporting the e-mail, the fraud detection will work better.
In Gmail, open the email on desktop and press the menu with the three dots on the right. Then choose Report Phishing and after that Report a phishing message.
In Outlook, open the e-mail and press the menu with the three dots on the right. Choose Security options and then Flag as Phishing and Report.
2. Via the Fraud Helpdesk
In the case of fraudulent e-mails, the Fraud Helpdesk can place a warning on its website. You can also get all the information about reporting phishing emails via the Fraudehelpdesk website. It has provided a special email address to which you send the fake email. For the main email providers, you can read instructions on how to report to the Fraud Helpdesk.
3. Contact the impersonated company
Phishing emails are often addressed to companies, so it is a good idea to inform a company of the fraud. As mentioned, don’t do that by replying directly to the suspected fake email. It is better to contact us by phone or via chat. The company can then take the necessary steps itself, for example by placing a warning on its app, website or on social media.
Think you’ve fallen victim to malware? Here are five signs that may indicate that. A minority of Androidworld readers indicated in our recent AW Poll that they have ever been victims of malware on their phones. Still, antivirus apps are very popular. Have you ever reported a fake email? Let us know in the comments.
