Protect Yourself
Against Phishing Attacks

Understanding Phishing Attacks: What You Need to Know

Phishing attacks are a prevalent form of cybercrime, designed to trick you into revealing sensitive information or installing malware. These attacks often come via email, social media, or text messages, impersonating trusted sources to gain your trust.

The FBI's IC3 Crime Report revealed nearly 300,000 reported phishing incidents in 2023, making it the most reported scam type. Protecting yourself requires a multi-layered approach, including recognizing the signs of phishing, using robust security software like Norton 360 Deluxe, and securing your accounts with two-factor authentication.

Key Signs of a Phishing Attempt

Knowing the red flags is crucial to identify phishing attempts. Be wary of generic greetings, unusual links, unknown sender addresses, and unexpected errors in communication.

Look out for unusual message content, such as poor grammar or unexpected requests for personal information. Be cautious of suspicious links, especially those that almost match legitimate URLs. False urgency, odd payment requests (like gift cards), and poorly designed emails are also telltale signs.

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The best protection against phishing is a multi-layered approach, including knowing how to spot phishing, not clicking unknown links, using robust security software, and securing your accounts with two-factor authentication.

Norton Team

Actionable Tips to Protect Yourself from Phishing

1. Learn the signs of phishing: Familiarize yourself with the common red flags, including suspicious links and unusual content. Norton 360 Deluxe can help detect potential phishing attacks with its AI-powered scam detection. Simply take a screenshot of the communication and let the tool analyze it.

2. Never click unknown links or attachments: Avoid clicking links or attachments in suspicious emails or texts. Always hover over links to preview the true URL and check for misspellings. Avoid clicking attachments from unknown sources, especially those with file extensions like '.exe,' '.zip,' or '.scr.'

3. Filter unwanted emails: Utilize your email provider's filtering options. Report emails as spam in Gmail and Outlook to filter them out. In Gmail, you can create filters to automatically delete or move emails from specific senders. On mobile, report suspicious emails by tapping the three dots icon and selecting 'Report spam.'

4. Report suspicious messages to your email provider: Reporting suspicious messages helps providers stay on top of potential phishing threats. Report phishing emails in Gmail by selecting 'Report phishing' from the three dots icon. If a suspicious message arrives at your work email, inform your company's IT department. You can also forward the message to the Anti-Phishing Working Group or report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

5. Avoid sharing personal information: Do not share sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, banking details, or passwords via email. Legitimate institutions will not ask for your personal information over email.

6. Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication: Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for extra security. Create strong, unique passwords for each account. Norton 360 Deluxe includes a password manager to help you generate and securely store strong passwords.

7. Keep your software up to date: Regularly update your operating system and software to patch security vulnerabilities that phishing attacks may exploit. Enable automatic updates when possible, and avoid postponing security updates.