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Avoid Phishing Attacks: Difference between revisions
→How does "Spear Phishing" work?
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Spear phishing is an email or electronic communications scam targeted towards a specific individual, school or business. Although often intended to steal data for malicious purposes, cybercriminals may also intend to install malware on a targeted user’s computer. | Spear phishing is an email or electronic communications scam targeted towards a specific individual, school or business. Although often intended to steal data for malicious purposes, cybercriminals may also intend to install malware on a targeted user’s computer. | ||
== How does "Spear Phishing" work? == | == How does "Spear Phishing" work? == | ||
An email arrives, apparently from a trustworthy source, but instead it leads the unknowing recipient to a bogus website full of malware. These emails often use clever tactics to get victims' attention. | An email arrives, apparently from a trustworthy source, but instead it leads the unknowing recipient to a bogus website full of malware. These emails often use clever tactics to get victims' attention. | ||
One employee mistake can have serious consequences. With stolen data, fraudsters can reveal sensitive information. In addition, spear phishing attacks can deploy malware to hijack computers, organizing them into enormous networks called botnets that can be used for denial of service attacks. | |||
== How to protect yourself from spear phishing == | == How to protect yourself from spear phishing == | ||
To fight spear phishing scams, employees need to be aware of the possibility of bogus emails landing in their inbox. | To fight spear phishing scams, employees need to be aware of the possibility of bogus emails landing in their inbox. | ||