The best ways to stop phishing scams

Learning the ins and outs of online safety in the 21st century is absolutely essential, as there are various ways in which criminals can seek to steal money and other pieces of valuable information off of people. Obviously this is something that we have to be incredibly careful of at Winzum, but luckily we have a team of computer boffins who keep our wonderful competition community safe.

Unfortunately not everybody has this, however, and as an individual online you really do have to be committed to online safety. Probably the most commonly experienced type of online scam are phishing scams, something that you can read about in more detail here [what is phishing].

Phishing can be incredibly dangerous for all of our online safety, and can result in quite a lot of financial losses, amongst other things too. We’re always on the look out to help you lovely lot at Winzum, so standby for some of the best ways to stop phishing scams.

Don’t just click on links willy-nilly

Let’s not beat around the bush here: we all have a tendency to click on links willy-nilly sometimes, especially if you see something that makes you excited, or incredibly frightened. It’s only natural after all, however this is something that phishing scammers take advantage of massively.

In many cases all it takes is one click on a malicious link for a phishing attack to be successful, so you really have to watch out. Always think before you click! It is a simple rule, but it may pay huge dividends in the long run.

Keep up to date with phishing scam techniques

Phishing scams can come in an almost infinite set of different shapes and sizes, so it is very important to try and keep up to date with different phishing techniques where you can. In doing so you will be able to spot phishing attempts much easier, especially newer more sophisticated ones.

There are lots of available resources online that help people do this, and it is also a great idea to read up on some past phishing scams too. You can find a load of these here [some famous phishing scams].

Be sensible in regards to email phishing

A lot of online safety is simply about being sensible, something that is very true when it comes to phishing in particular. In most cases phishing scams are only disguised quite thinly, so as long as you are sensible and remain clear headed you will easily be able to spot them.

Take potential phishing emails, for instance. Quite often all you have to do is hover over the email sender to find that the email address is completely different to the company they are trying to imitate – an easy way to spot phishing.

Use anti-phishing software where possible

Online safety is a big thing in the 21st century, which is why there are loads of different anti-virus and anti-phishing software providers out there these days. Using stuff like an anti-phishing toolbar in your web browser is a bit of a no brainer, and can help prevent a phishing scam right from the offset.

Anti-virus software and firewalls are also great ways to combat phishing, so we would always recommend using them where you can.