Phishing is when the criminals in the digital world use fake emails or websites or social media platforms / posts or even direct messages with the aim to lure you to click on a bad link or download a bad/malicious attachment. If you click on a phishing link or file, you can divulge or hand over your personal and sensitive information to the cybercriminals. A phishing attack can also install malware on your device (desktop / laptop / smart phone / iPad / etc.) through which you connect to your digital world.

No need to fear your email box, though. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid a scam email, but only when you are aware of what to look for. With little knowledge and digital discipline, you can outsmart the cybercriminals or phishers, every day.

See it so you don’t click it

The indicators can be subtle, but if you are able to recognise a phishing attempt, you can avoid falling for it. Before clicking any link or downloading any file or attachment, take a few seconds (like may be 4-5 seconds, literally) and ensure that the email looks genuine. Given below are some quick tips to spot a phishing email from a genuine email.

Does it contain an offer that’s too good to be true – the subject line will be worded with a very attractive offer – almost irresistible but
Does the subject or the body include language that’s urgent, alarming or threatening – like “respond within next 30 minutes to avail this offer” OR “ if you don’t act your account will be deleted”
Are there misspellings or bad grammar in the body
Is the greeting very ambiguous or generic but addressing a specific person or entity.
Does it ask to send / share / input personal or sensitive
Does it stress an urgency to click on an unfamiliar link or
Does it sound like a strange or an abrupt business
Does the sender’s email id match with that of the company its coming from? Look for misspellings within the email address itself like com or amazon.com or sbii.in.co

Uh oh! I see a phishing email. What do I do?

Don’t worry, you’ve already done the hard part, which is recognising that an email is a fake or phishing email and is a part of the criminal’s phishing trip.

If you’re at office and the email came to your work email address, report the same to your IT department which handles the email security as quickly as possible.

If the email came to your personal email address, don’t do what is asks you to do. Do not click on any links or attachments, or reply back. Just use that Delete button. Remember, DON’T CLICK ON LINKS OR ATTACHMENTS, JUST DELETE.

You can take further steps to protect yourself and block the sending email address in your email program. For more information on blocking the sender’s email address, you may click on HELP button of your email program and carry out the steps mentioned therein.

Some email programs let you report phishing attempts to strengthen their email servers at large. If you suspect an email is a phishing attempt and trying to get your information, it’s best to report it quickly. If the phishing message came to your work email, let your IT team handling email security about the fake or phishing email ASAP.

Safe Online Shopping

For many people, online shopping is simply “shopping”. Who can resist one-click ordering and next-day delivery? However, online shopping isn’t just convenient for us and good for businesses …. It can present many opportunities for scammers and cybercriminals as well.

Cybercriminals or bad actors try to trick consumers into paying for goods that don’t exist. Cybercriminals seek to capture personal information for financial gain.

You don’t need to abandon your cart, though. With some simple preventive measures, you can enjoy your online shopping spree with peace of mind.

Think before you click

Beware of emails, texts or other promotions that seem suspicious or encourage you to urgently click on links. If you receive an enticing offer, check to see it is coming from an actual retailer and uses a web address that matches the company’s online store. If you can’t sense that someone is trying to imitate a legitimate retailer, report the scam to your email provider as a phishing attempt. Remember, if it seems to good to be true, it probably is a phishing attack.

Do your homework

Scammers are fond of setting up fake e-commerce websites, that look exactly the same as the original ones, barring a couple of differences here and there. The URL (Universal Resource Locator) may appear to be same with a very minor spelling difference or certain character(s) of the URL would be in a different font. Prior to making a purchase, read customer reviews of the merchant. Check for trusted sources, as well as online platforms. In addition, see if the store has a physical location and any customer service information. If you still have doubts, call the merchant to confirm that they are genuine / legitimate.

Consider your payment options

If possible, use a credit card instead of a debit card, because there are more consumer protections for credit cards if something goes wrong. You might be able to opt for a third party payment service instead of your credit card. There are many payments services like GPay, PayTM, etc. – without giving the merchant you credit card information directly.

Share with care

Pay attention to the types of information a website collects to complete your transaction. If a merchant requests more data than required or you feel comfortable sharing, cancel the transaction. You only need to fill out the required fields at checkout and you should never save your payment information in the profile section. If the account autosaves it, delete the stored payment details after making the purchase.

Keep tabs on your bank and credit card statements

Continuously check your financial accounts for any unauthorised transactions or activity. Good record-keeping goes hand-in-hand with managing your cybersecurity. Many credit card companies allow users to set up alerts that send emails or text messages with transactions details every time the credit card is used.

Use Secure Wi-Fi

Shopping online using a public Wi-fi while at a coffee shop or airport is convenient, but it is not very secure. Avoid making online purchases via public Wi-fi. Instead, use a virtual private network (VPN) or your phone as a hotspot. You can also save items in your cart for later and make the purchases at home on your own secure network.

Enable multi-factor authentication

Create long and unique passphrases for all accounts and use multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. MFA will fortify your online accounts by enabling the strongest authentication tools available, such as biometrics or a unique one-time code sent to your phone or mobile device.

Give the Gift of Cybersecurity

Purchasing an internet-connected device for a loved one? Research how to make the device secure and let the recipient know. Make sure they know how to configure privacy and security settings, set up a strong password and deactivate any features / applications they don’t need. Don’t let your loved ones learn the hard way, if they aren’t as cybersecurity literate as you. If you give them a device, also gift them the gift of peace of mind by teaching them cybersecurity best practices.

Tips for Online Safety / Privacy Basics

With a little preparation, you can protect your personal / sensitive information online and secure your digital systems and other electronic devices that provide you connectivity to your information online.

With a little knowledge, a little effort, and a few minutes of your time. You can keep your personal and sensitive data and computer systems / devices locked down tight. Cybersecurity does not have to be intimidating! It also does not require lot of time and money! In fact, you can secure your digital life with trusted tools that are available for free. Also, now, many of the cybersecurity best practices can be automated using appropriate tools.

Literally, a few minutes of your preparation can keep you safe. The benefits of a few moments of your time, research, preparation, and action, far outweigh the potential costs of losing your personal / sensitive data that is kept unprotected via a breach or having your identity stolen. Even if some of your data is compromised, if you follow some simple guidelines, you can ensure that the damage will be minimum.

Given below are some tips to stay safe online:

Keep a Clean Machine – Keep all the software on Internet connected devices – including personal computers, smartphones iPads, Tablets – current to reduce risk of infection from ransomware and If you want to “set it and forget it”, configure your devices to automatically update or notify when the update is available.

Create Long, Unique Passwords – Length increases complexity. The strongest passwords are at least 12 characters long and include letters, number and symbols. Ideally, your password should not be recognisable as a word or a phrase. And yes, you should have a unique password for each of your online account. Does it seem difficult to remember? Using a password manager has never been easier (we’ll discuss more on this below) – many smartphones and web browsers include password managers and even suggest strong Otherwise, we recommend coming up with a password that is actually a “passphrase”, that is, a sentence that is at least 12 characters long. Focus on positive sentences or phrases that you like to think about and are easy to remember, such as “ILov3StayingSafeOnl1ne!” (but don’t use this in real life).

Use a Password Manager – Ditch the notebook or the diary if that’s where you have been keeping your Also, stop using notepad text files or word processing doc files – save your disk space. Instead, the simplest, most secure way to manage unique passwords is through a password manager application. A password manager is a software created to manage all your online credentials like usernames and passwords. Many such software / applications are available for free. Often, browsers and device operating systems include password management programs. Password Managers store your passwords in an encrypted database (think of it as your personal vault for passwords). These programs also generate new passwords when you need them. It has never been easier to safely generate, store and access your passwords.
Enable Multi-factor Authentication – Multi-factor Authentication (MFA), also synonymous to 2-factor authentication, adds a whole other level of security to your key online MFA includes biometrics (imagine face ID scan or fingerprint access), security keys or apps that send you unique, one-time codes / passwords when you want to log on to a sensitive account. It is recommended to use MFA whenever offered.

Think Before You Click – What’s the most common way for cybercriminals to get your sensitive information? It’s when you click on something you shouldn’t be clicking on. Malicious links on emails, tweets, texts, posts, social media messages and malicious online advertising (a.k.a. malvertising) are a direct way for hackers to get your sensitive Don’t make it easy for them. Be wary of clicking on links

or downloading any files that arrive as attachments in emails coming from stranger or something that you were not expecting. Whenever you get an email or a message, count to five – usually that’s all the time you need to determine if the email or the message is authentic or not.

Report Phishing – One of the best ways to bring down cybercriminals is by reporting phishing attempts. If the email came to your work email address, report it to your IT manager, internal email department, the cyber security department, as quickly as possible. If you’re at home and the email came to your personal email address, do not click on any links (even the unsubscribe link) or reply back to the Most email programs and social media platforms allow you to report phishing attempts. But don’t keep that phishing message around – delete it ASAP. You can further protect yourself by blocking the sender from your email program, social media platform or phone.

Use Secure Wi-Fi – Public wireless networks and hotspots are unsecured, which mean that anyone can potentially see what you are doing on your laptop or smartphone while you are connected to them. Limit your activities while you are on public Wi-Fi. Especially, avoid logging into your key accounts like email or financial services. Consider using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a personal / mobile hotspot if you need a more secure

Back It Up – The best way to protect your valuable work, music, photos, data and other digital information is to make copies and store them If you have a copy of your data and your device becomes a victim to ransomware or any other cyber threat, you will be able to restore the data from a backup. If you break your computer or it crashes, you won’t lose the data along with the device. Use the 3-2-1 rule as a guiding factor for backing up your data. The rule is: Keep at least 3 copies of your data, and store 2 backup copies on different storage media, with 1 of them located offsite. One of these storage possibilities can be backing up to the cloud, which are secure computer servers you can access through an account.

Check Your Settings – Every time you signup for a new account, download a new app or get a new device, immediately configure the privacy and security settings to your comfort level for information Regularly check these settings to make sure they are still configured to your comfort. Audit your apps, platforms and games every few months and delete ones you no longer use – then you don’t need to check their settings.

Share With Care – Think before posting about yourself and others Consider what a post reveals, who might see it and how it might affect you and others. Limit the visibility of you posts only to your known acquaintances or friends and not to “anyone”.