Page 50 - How to be Cyber Safe + Savvy

CHAPTER 4: Protecting Yourself From Fraud and Scams
PHISHING: DON'T TAKE THE BAIT
“Phishing” is a catch-all term for scams that come through email,
text, shared video, or other personal communications channels. Designed to persuade people to give up sensitive account data, personally identifiable information, or simply money, these scams play on our emotions, especially fear, greed, temptation, and other states of mind that move us to make bad decisions.
In the case of phishing, the bad deci- sion is usually to share personal infor- mation that allows criminals to get into data stores and networks that should be off-limits to them. With such access, hackers then infect computers with malware, lock up files and hold them for ransom, steal people’s data or money, or commit other crimes that cost businesses and individuals billions of dollars every year.
A few facts about phishing
1. Phishing is by far the most common form of cyber crime, by almost a four- to-one margin, according to the FBI.
2. Alarmingly high percentages of people fall for scams — by one count, over 20 percent of recipients open phishing messages, and two-thirds of these click on links they contain.
3. One large study found that 95 per- cent of data breaches result from human error, with the vast majority resulting from successful phishing campaigns.
An imperative of good data care is to use caution in providing information, especially in response to out-of- the-blue requests. Learning to spot phishing emails is a key first line of data care defense. Most phishing emails will reveal themselves as fake when you look at them closely.
50 CYBER SAFE + SAVVY