Phishing Scams

I keep writing about phishing scams because people keep falling for them. They are so common, and some can be quite persuasive. It’s understandable to click on a link in an email purporting to be from UPS saying there is a delay in your delivery, especially if you are actually expecting a UPS package.

Phishing scams are ‘Fishing' for information, using bait such as delivery has been delayed, a bank account has been compromised, or your email has been accessed on a new device, in China, was it you? Those are just a few, and generally, all fake. One scam recently has been the ‘unusual sign on activity’ mail. It suggests your email was accessed somewhere or sometime which could not have been you. A link is provided if it wasn’t you. DON’T CLICK THE LINK. It leads to trouble.

There are common variations on the theme, and I get legitimate ones from Gmail, but there are no links. That’s a clue. The Gmail emails tell me to go to my Gmail account and do something, rather than provide a link. That’s what to look out for, as the link is the hook, and you are the ‘fish’.

You can read about this sort of thing HERE. 
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I get phishing on my cell phone too. I just delete the text messages and have no idea what the goal is. Often, it’s seemingly innocuous asking me why I haven’t called lately, or they left their coat in my car, short messages, nothing identifiable. Weird. When I delete them the option to also report as spam comes up, which I do. With emails, I do the same, send to junk folder and report. I don’t know that it does any good, but I feel better doing it.