Phishing is a cyberattack that works by tricking you into releasing personal or company information, compromising your safety.
Attackers initiate these by contacting you via email, text message, or telephone and impersonating a government official, close relative, business associate, employer, employee, or service provider.
They always seek to collect bank/credit card information, house address, or any other information that can be used in committing identity fraud.
It was recorded that phishing attacks increased by over 220% during the 2020 Covid-19 era.
According to the chart above, the massive increase in phishing attacks was largely due to news of government assistance coming in for people through stimulus checks.
This in turn allowed scammers to pose as government officials via emails and phone calls which made most people give up their data ignorantly.
It is also reported that phishing attacks have increased by 1,139% from 2018 to 2022.
Businesses are often targeted for phishing attacks than individuals as scammers know they can make more money with a single successful attack.
Also, cyberattackers target businesses knowing that some employees can sometimes be careless.
In addition, financial institutions face more threats than other sectors.
There are 8 types of phishing attacks; the most common is email phishing.
With the advancement in technology and the development of AI, phishing attacks have become seamless and the need for individuals and business organizations to be cautious is inevitable.
This article discusses ways you can safeguard yourself and your business. In addition, you will learn how to detect if your data is compromised and be informed about ways to prevent attacks.
How To Detect Phishing Attacks
1. Use URL and Domain Reputation Analysis
This is a system that assesses the level of trustworthiness of a URL or website by analyzing its history and past behavior.
Data of URLs like associated web traffic, relations with other sites, and origin are known phishing databases that are used to assess the worthiness of a URL.
Whenever there is a suspicious link or the system detects that the URL is associated with harmful sites, it is immediately flagged, preventing you from having access to it.
Domain reputation analysis is not limited to websites alone as email providers also use it to evaluate the authenticity of emails.
Below are some of the best URL and domain reputation analysis tools in 2024:
- Google Postmaster Tools – It analyzes your IP address and displays data on email deliverability.
- Microsoft SNDS – Microsoft’s Smart Network Data Service allows you to assess valuable email activity data.
- IP Quality Score – This uses a blocklist registry library and deep learning algorithm to check the legitimacy of URLs.
- PhishTank – All you need to do on this site is to insert the suspected URL into a search bar, and It will show you the authenticity of the URL within minutes.
2. Adopt Artificial Intelligence
It is 2024 and the advancement of AI has been fascinating and impactful in almost all spheres of our lives as it is being adopted by all sectors, from government agencies to social media companies, factories, etc.
With AI’s current market value sitting at $196.63 billion, and a projection of $1.85 trillion by 2030, you don’t want to miss out on several ways you can use AI, such as preventing phishing attacks.
AI systems can analyze the content of your email, the source, the sense of urgency, and the tune of communication to determine if it is safe.
If an email has a tune of urgency, amongst others, the AI system can flag it as it is a common trait of scammers.
Here is a list of effective tools:
- Cofense PDR – Confense PDR (Phishing Detection and Response) is a system of a mixture of human expertise and artificial intelligence that enables you to examine emails and prevent attacks by empowering your SOC (Security Operation Center) to analyze and neutralize cyber threats promptly.
- BrainShield – This tool is renowned in the digital risk protection sphere with years of development and references from big corporations. This is an effective AI tool with features like blocklists for securing digital assets from malicious websites.
- Barracuda Email Protection – Formerly known as Barracuda Sentinel, this AI tool is developed for business owners; its advanced AI and ML system confirms the legitimacy of an email and blocks malicious emails targeting businesses.
- Memcyco – This is another AI tool designed to block phishing attacks by warning the users and helping them distinguish between an authentic email or URL. Its Fraud Intelligence API integration enhances scam prediction.
- IRONSCALES – This AI-integrated system focuses on cloud email security and warns users of a threat or automatically removes such threats from user inboxes. As it operates within Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, any email it scans gets automatically scanned by Microsoft or Google for DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
3. Look Out For Inconsistencies
There are always hints for detecting fakes, no matter the duplicator’s level of expertise.
If you are cautious and alert enough, you will be able to spot inconsistencies in a phishing email.
The first inconsistency that should be considered is links and domain names — does the link and domain name originate from and correspond with organizations or people you know?
Since you have exchanged emails with the assumed sender, go back to cross-check the sender’s address from previous email exchanges.
If it does not match, then you have your answer.
4. Pay Attention to Emails With Sense Of Urgency
If an email appears too urgent, try to be calm in taking any action requested by such email. This is because people tend to be impulsive when under pressure.
In an article published in 2017, it was discovered that people jump to do anything that requires urgent action. Cyberattackers leverage this human psychological trait to coerce targets into releasing crucial data and information.
In summary, be cautious when responding to emails, calls, or texts that reeks of urgency.
5. Check For Misspelling and Bad Grammar
Scammers are fond of making grammatical errors and get away with this as they know most people are not conscious enough to see misspellings and grammatical errors as red flags.
Learn to view anyone who sounds unprofessional, or any email with grammatical errors as a potential threat to your safety.
Companies use spell-checking tools to make their email appear standard and professional. This is not the same for fraudsters who only care to make money and bank on the ignorance of unsuspecting targets.
There are various articles online stating why scammers make grammatical blunders. Joseph Steinberg, a lecturer and cybersecurity expert discusses further on this topic.
6. Be Weary Of Emails Requesting Login Details or Payment Information
A phishing attack’s only purpose is to gain access to your data.
When the content of an email requires you to release your card details or other personal information, conduct due diligence to confirm it is from a trusted source by following the processes listed above.
Now that you know the best ways to detect phishing attacks in 2024, the next section discusses how to prevent them.
Best Ways To Prevent Phishing Attacks In 2024
A. Educate Your Employees
46% of employees submit details on fake websites, while 20% click on fake attachments.
With these stats, you know the safety of your business is most likely to be compromised by the ignorance of your employees.
Therefore, teaching them how to detect attacks is unnegotiable.
Knowbe4, a machine learning tool that enhances employee awareness is highly recommended. It examines the knowledge of employees by providing simulated attacks.
B. Use Antiphishing Tools and Email Security
Security tools can help you detect an incoming attack. This easily prevents you from falling prey to the scammers.
These systems and tools will drastically reduce your chances of being a victim of phishing attacks:
- Antivirus and antimalware software
- Firewall
C. Don’t Be Eager To Reply To Every Email
Caution yourself to always be calm whenever an email notification pops up on your device.
If you are in the middle of a task and an email notification comes in, finish the task and settle before opening your email app. This will enable you to be relaxed and have a clear mind to reply to such an email.
D. Use Multifactor Authentication (MFA)
Make sure your email account has multifactor authentication enabled as this will make it harder for any imposter to gain easy access to your account.
Multifactor authentication is an extra layer of verification process before gaining access to your data. and information
This layer of verification should not be limited to your email account alone, rather, it should be extended to all your social media accounts and bank apps.
When you apply this, scammers will find it hard to access your account and steal your data, even after gaining access to your login details.
E. Do Not Click On Random Links
Social media exposes you to different things and some require you to click on some links to watch videos or read documents.
Not only that, some even ask you to register to have access to them.
Scammers can easily put out a link under any guise listed above. Therefore, clicking on any of these links exposes your data.
Another way to detect if a link is a threat is by hovering your cursor over it. This shows you the actual address the link leads to and will, hence, let you know whether the link is trustworthy or not.
Conclusion
With different data shared in this article, you must have realized that phishing attacks are one of the top most committed cyber crimes.
Not that alone, you should have also realized you are prone to be a victim as scammers can trick you into releasing your personal information in many ways.
Follow the processes discussed in this article to detect, analyze, and safeguard your data from threats.
Featured Image by Freepik
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