Scams spell disaster for seniors

Old fashioned fishing is a relaxing pastime that rewards you with tasty tidbits for dinner.

Current phishing is an attractive lure designed to pick your pocket and bank account as well as any and all finances you might have stashed away.

Despite all the cautions, warnings and exposes of phishing

Elkhart Place results, it’s still a well-used and effective method used by crooks and scammers to remain lucrative.

Many of you already are prepared to trash the daily promotional messages, reader letters, PR content, and obvious phishing attempts in your inbox. But you might become alarmed if you receive a warning that hackers were threatening your cyberworld but not to worry because the sender is offering antivirus software in exchange for a review.

That antivirus usually is, in fact, malware designed to steal passwords and browser cookies that can also hold login credentials.

Identifying legitimate contact is difficult in the age of frequent phishing attempts. If you want to verify that an email came from someone you know and contains safe links, the Federal Trade Commission offers a few steps you can take to stay safe.

If you don’t recognize the sender of the address, think twice about opening any links contained in the email.

A generic greeting is also a giveaway. A business email normally won’t begin with a casual greeting such as, “Hi Dear.” And an email from a friend won’t spell your name wrong or address you with an honorific like “Mr., Mrs., or Miss.”

Be suspicious of any emails that invite you to click on a link to update your payment details, update your account information, receive a coupon for free stuff, or include an invoice you aren’t expecting.

Even the most vigilant email user can be caught unaware by a malicious link in an email. Adding extra layers of protection to your online life can mitigate the damage done by scammers.

A simple and easy way is to back up your data, then copy all important documents and information regularly and store that on an external hard drive or thumb drive.

Be aware that there are different types of phishing attacks.

The most common form is an email from senders masquerading as a colleague or co-worker or a large account provider such as Microsoft or Google.

Malware phishing involves planting malware disguised as a trustworthy attachment, such as a resume or bank statement, in an email. Opening such an attachment can paralyze entire IT systems.

Spear phishing targets specific individuals by exploiting information gathered through research into their jobs and social lives. These attacks are highly customized, making them particularly effective at bypassing basic cybersecurity.

Whaling is when bad actors target a “big fish” like a business executive or celebrity. If you have a lot to lose, whaling attackers have a lot to gain.

Smishing involves sending text messages disguised as trustworthy communications from businesses like Amazon or FedEx. People are particularly vulnerable as text messages are delivered in plain text and come across as more personal.

In vishing campaigns, attackers in fraudulent call centers try to trick people into providing sensitive information over the phone. In many cases, these scamsters try to dupe victims into installing malware onto their devices in the form of an app.

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