How to recognize "phishing" email.

Scammers use email or text messages to trick you into giving them your personal information. There are several things you can do to protect yourself.

See below for tips from the U.S Federal Trade Commission.

How to recognize phishing

Phishing emails and text messages may look like they’re from a company you know or trust. They often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. These messages may:

  • say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts.
  • claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information.
  • say you must confirm some personal information.
  • include a fake invoice.
  • want you to click on a link to make a payment.
  • say you’re eligible to register for a government refund.
  • offer a coupon for free stuff.

How to protect yourself.

Email Spam filters keep many phishing emails out of your Inbox.

Scammers know that, so they are always trying to outsmart them. You can add extra layers of protection to protect yourself with these four steps:

Protect your computer by using security software.

Set the software to update automatically.

It will quietly protect you in the background from any new security threats.

Protect your mobile phone by setting software to update automatically.

These updates may give you critical protection against security threats.

Protect your accounts by using multi-factor authentication.

Some accounts offer extra security by requiring two or more credentials to log in to your account. This is called multi-factor authentication.

By using multi-factor authentication, scammers have a tougher time trying to log in to your accounts if they do get your username and password.

Protect your data by backing it up.

Back up your data and be sure the backups are not connected to your home network. Copy your computer files to an external hard drive or to cloud storage. You can back up phone data, too.

For the complete article from the Federal Trade Commission, please see How to Recognize and Avoid Phishing Scams