An estimated 3.4 million phishing emails are sent each day worldwide, making scam avoidance an essential skill. Although fraudulent emails were once relatively easy to spot‚-often revealed by poor spelling or grammar‚-cybercriminals now leverage artificial intelligence(AI) tools to make scams more convincing. And phishing emails are not the only scam type; several other fraud schemes could catch you off guard. Here are five scams to watch out for.
1. Spearphishing‚-A type of social engineering attack, spear phishing involves threat actors gathering a target's information (e.g., names, job titles, and relationships) to create convincing, tailored messages. However, real organizations rarely detail personal or sensitive information in communications, so consider this a red flag.
2. Tapjacking‚-Combining the words "tap" and "hijacking," this scam type results in a malicious app or overlay placed on a victim's phone screen, preventing them from seeing what they're tapping on and potentially deceiving them into performing unintended actions. To lessen the chances of tap jacking, only download apps from reputable sources.
3. Quishing‚-This scam sees hackers leverage QR code technology to lead victims to fake login pages. QR codes can be stuck to parking metres or sent via email; they can crop up almost anywhere, so vigilance is vital.
4. AI and deepfake scams‚-Criminals increasingly use AI to impersonate reputable sources convincingly. For instance, a threat actor could create a deepfake audio of a CEO asking an employee to transfer money to a third party. Always be wary and review unusual requests with scrutiny.
5. Online ads‚-Malicious ads on social media platforms may appear as pop-ups or warnings. Always act with caution when clicking on ads of any sort.
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