How to avoid being a victim of Phishing: Profeco warned about this fraud to steal information

As part of the Safe Internet Day, the agency warned about this type of fraud.

The Federal Consumer Prosecutor’s Office (Profeco), alerted the population of Mexico about Phishing, one of the types of most common scams and that can be stopped in time to prevent information theft.

Within the framework of Safe Internet Day, the agency noted that such activity is carried out through text messages, calls and emails.

What is phishing?

According to Profeco, it is a type of digital fraud that impersonates identity. This is done by text messages, calls and more frequently by email, with the aim of steal personal information, money, or cause a virus to be downloaded. These types of threats can also seek to take control of the device or computer.

According to Profeco, it is a type of digital fraud (Photo: Colprensa) 

How to recognize phishing?

This type of online fraud it is done through messages that seem to be sent from well-known companies as they may look the same. Frequently they count a story to hook and get the victim to click on a link.

Some of the methods they deal with are:

– Report suspicious activity detected and login attempts

– Claim that there is a problem with the account or payment information

– Say that some personal data must be confirmed

This type of online fraud is carried out through messages that appear to be sent from well-known companies (Photo: Europa Press) 

How can you avoid these types of scams?

To avoid falling into a fraud such as phishing, you must reinforce security in electronic devices and navigation, for example:

– Use the two-step verification system on accounts.

– Check that the URL of the websites begins with “https”.

– Be wary of incredible offers or those that offer quick ways to earn money.

– Remember that legitimate websites do not request passwords or financial information through messages.

– Use a complete and reliable security solution to be protected.

– Have updated software. In this way, one ensures that the operating system has the necessary patches or corrections to be protected against possible attacks.

– Avoid public WiFi connection, without password protection and where all traffic can be exposed. Ideally, use a reliable VPN to connect, especially if you are entering sensitive data on the web.

With the pandemic, remote fraud has increased (Photo: pixabay) 

What other threats are common?

According to the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, other of the most used tactics son: Smishing Y VishingWith these, social engineering criminals also try to trick people into revealing confidential information or performing certain actions such as executing files that appear to be benign, but are actually malicious.

– Smishing occurs when a short text message (SMS) is received on the cell phone, by means of which the user is requested to call a phone number or go to a website.

– Vishing is the scam that occurs through a phone call that seeks to deceive, impersonating the identity of a person or entity to request private information or take any action against the victim.

The ability to identify an attack social engineering minimizes, to a great extent, the risk of falling victim to cybercriminals and see compromised information. For this, it is recommended to ask yourself before opening any link, attached file, text message or call from an unknown sender: if I was waiting for that information, if I recognize the sender, or if they request to do something and question those that do not match with the expected.