Phishing is a cyber attack that uses fake emails as a weapon. The objective is to fool the recipient of the email into accepting that the message is something they want or need eg; a solicitation from their bank, or a note from somebody in their organisation, and a link to click that brings them somewhere unfamiliar or download an attachment.
The basic type of phishing trick can be very deceptive and lead you into thinking that a legitimate organisation has sent you an email and wants you to click a link to log in with your username and password. This is an attempt to steal your personal data or login accreditation and often comes with a sense of urgency that ‘you must do this within 24 hours’ etc.
To avoid being deceived, users should inspect all URLs carefully (hover your mouse over the link without clicking) to see if they redirect to unknown and/or suspicious websites and also to look out for generic salutations, grammar mistakes and spelling errors scattered throughout the email.
Always treat any emails with spelling mistakes, grammar errors, links, or attachments with caution.
But also ensure you have a reputable antivirus program and malware checker installed.
Further reading
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are ever unsure of emails being sent to you.