🎥 Monitor Your Surroundings (Be Aware of Phishing & Threats)
Stay cautious online. If something seems suspicious—like a strange email or unexpected link—treat it like an uninvited stranger at your door.
MINSET
3/4/20252 min read
🔍 1. What is Phishing? (The Online Con Game)
Phishing is a social engineering attack where scammers pretend to be trusted entities (banks, coworkers, or even family members) to trick you into revealing sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal data.
🚨 Common Types of Phishing Attacks:
✅ Email Phishing – Fake emails pretending to be from a legitimate source, urging you to click malicious links.
✅ Spear Phishing – A targeted attack on a specific person (e.g., CEO fraud or fake HR emails).
✅ Smishing (SMS Phishing) – Fraudulent text messages tricking you into clicking a malicious link.
✅ Vishing (Voice Phishing) – Scammers call pretending to be a bank or tech support.
✅ Fake Websites – Lookalike login pages designed to steal your credentials.
🚪 2. How to Spot Phishing Attempts (Red Flags to Watch For)
🔹 Suspicious Sender – Is the email from an unknown or weird-looking address?
🔹 Urgent Language – “Your account will be closed!” or “Verify now to avoid suspension!”
🔹 Unexpected Attachments/Links – Hover over links (without clicking) to check their true destination.
🔹 Generic Greetings – “Dear Customer” instead of your actual name.
🔹 Grammatical Errors – Legitimate companies don’t send poorly written messages.
🔹 Requests for Personal Info – No real company will ask for your password or SSN via email.
🔹 Example of a Phishing Email:
🚫 From: PayPaI Support (notice the capital "I" instead of "l")
🚫 Subject: “URGENT: Your Account is Suspended! Click here to fix it.”
🚫 Link: http://paypai.com-reset.info/login (Fake PayPal website)
🔑 3. How to Protect Yourself from Phishing
✅ Use a Spam Filter – Services like Gmail, Outlook, and ProtonMail have built-in filters to block phishing emails.
✅ Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Even if attackers steal your password, MFA prevents them from logging in.
✅ Verify Directly – If you receive a suspicious message from your bank or employer, call them directly (using the official number).
✅ Check URLs Carefully – Hover over links before clicking. Legitimate sites use HTTPS (🔒 padlock icon in the browser).
✅ Use Anti-Phishing Browser Extensions:
🔹 Netcraft (Anti-phishing alerts for Chrome & Firefox)
🔹 Avast Online Security (Blocks fake websites)
✅ Report Phishing Attempts – Forward suspicious emails to phishing-report@us-cert.gov or your IT department.
🔥 4. Real-Life Example: Phishing Attack in Action
🕵️♂️ Case Study: The Google Docs Phishing Scam (2017)
Attackers sent fake Google Docs invitations to thousands of users.
Clicking the link granted hackers access to their entire email inbox.
Even tech-savvy users were fooled because the email looked 100% real.
Google quickly shut it down, but millions were at risk.
🔹 Lesson? Always verify unexpected document requests, especially if they ask for login permissions!
🚀 Key Takeaways:
✔ Be skeptical of unexpected messages, even from “trusted” sources.
✔ Don’t click on suspicious links or attachments—hover to check the real URL.
✔ Enable MFA to prevent attackers from accessing your accounts.
✔ Use anti-phishing tools to block malicious sites before you fall for them.