Phishing: What is it? Recognizing and fending off attacks

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Phishing is one of the biggest threats on the internet. Fake emails, websites, WhatsApp messages, or phone calls are designed to defraud and steal from you.

What phishing methods are there?
The term phishing is derived from “password harvesting fishing.” This primarily refers to “fishing for passwords.” Criminals use a suitable lure to get you to hand over your login details for online banking and other portals.

Email phishing: In this case, well-known websites are often made to look deceptively real, and victims are tricked into entering their login details on fake bank websites, for example, using fake emails or text messages.
Vishing: With “voice phishing”, for example, you receive a call with an alleged prize announcement, which ultimately turns out to be just data theft or an attempt to trick you into an unwanted subscription
Smishing: This phishing method is even more devious because it uses text messages. You receive strange package announcements with a link leading to an app download. You are supposed to install this app to track the parcel. In reality, however, a Trojan sends the criminals your bank and other access data. This method is limited to Android smartphones because iPhone users cannot install apps from external sources.
Spear phishing involves targeting a company employee. The attackers send special emails tailored to this person to try to trick them into handing over sensitive data or installing a Trojan in the company network.

All these methods have several characteristics in common:

Phishing emails usually have an impersonal salutation.
A relatively large proportion of the people addressed do not even have an account with the alleged sender portal.
The sender’s e-mail address usually has nothing to do with the company from which the e-mail is supposed to come.

If the text is not in English, it often contains numerous spelling mistakes.
If you examine the links in the email closely, they do not lead to the official website of the alleged sender.
The fake websites are not located at the usual address of the alleged sender but use either hacked domains or addresses such as https://vr-updates30285.com.
With “voice phishing calls,” the callers very often speak German with a strong accent and cannot answer the subject correctly. If you question the statements made, they often become insulting.
In addition, most of the displayed numbers are invalid when called back. So-called “call ID spoofing” simulates telephone numbers that look trustworthy at first glance. The masterminds are often based abroad.