Think Before You Click!
Do you know where you’re going online? Or are you just blindly clicking and trusting?
A recent security study shows cyber criminals are generating more and more malicious web addresses in hopes that you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing. And so we have to ask—do you look before you click?
Sometimes the emails we receive or social media posts we see are so enticing—who wouldn’t like a free $200 Amazon gift card, right? But as Cynjas we know this activity is called phishing, it’s how a cyber criminal tricks you with into becoming their digital puppet!! They offer a link that when clicked takes you to a spoofed or fake website. You think you’re on a trusted site and do what they ask, like entering confidential information about yourself or family members into their online labyrinth of fraud and misdeeds.
Here are 3 ways you can avoid such a stark cyber fate
1- Check the Link- Before you click, hover your cursor over the link or right-clicking a hyperlink and selecting “Properties” to reveal its true destination.
2- Read any URL carefully- Is it spelled correctly? Many times sneaky phishers create websites almost identical to the spelling of the site that you’re trying to visit as a way to cause confusion. Ask yourself, does anyone in your home need to visit websites ending in .ru or .xxx? We’d say, no way. So don’t click.
3- Use Common Sense- If the email, website or link doesn’t look right—even if the promises seem incredibly enticing—make a sharp U-turn and get out of the digital neighborhood that you’ve found yourself in.