The increase in internet usage due to the coronavirus has also mobilized cyber attackers. Especially in the last year, there has been a record increase in the number of cyber attacks.
Phishing attacks reached 874 million in 2021, an increase of 29 percent. You have to be careful in order to protect yourself from these attacks, which are becoming alarming day by day.
The purpose of the attacks is to persuade the recipient to click on a decoy link to a website set up to steal their credentials and enter their confidential information such as username, password or bank account details.
Several measures to detect and protect against identity theft.
- Check emails carefully
When an e-mail is received, there should be no rush to reply or do what is written.
The first thing to do is look for signs of identity theft. Here are the ways to look for these danger signs:
Has an emotional topic title been used? Commonly used concepts include massive money transfers, monetary compensation, hacked or blocked accounts, and fraudulent transactions.
These are attention-getting issues that are likely to trigger an emotional response, often played on greed or fear.
Emphasizing that the situation is serious should arouse suspicion. “This is the last warning to you!” or “You only have 3 hours” with excessive exclamation points.
- Be careful when using social networks
Email isn’t the only thing to watch out for. Similar potential dangers exist with messages from messaging apps and social networks.
- Think twice before entering your bank details
Debit card information is particularly sensitive as it provides direct access to savings. Therefore, no matter how the website is accessed, it should be checked one last time where it really is before entering the bank card information.
First, the address should be looked at closely. Look for the same red flags: misspellings, numbers instead of letters, hyphens in unexpected places, and weird domain names.
- Use different passwords
Even if the password is very secure, if the same password is used for different accounts, somehow accessing a phishing website can put all accounts at risk of being compromised. It is very important to use a different password for each website and application.
- Use two-factor authentication
The goal of many credential attacks is to hijack accounts, but by using two-factor authentication wherever possible, attackers can be prevented from logging into the account even if they get the username and password.
After enabling two-factor authentication, an additional temporary verification code is required to log in. This code can be obtained via email, text message, or an authenticator application.
- Use a strong security protection
It is absolutely difficult to constantly pay attention to the danger signs, to check each address, link. However, security solutions that protect against identity theft can be used.
