(MENAFN- iCrowdNewsWire) The deceptive art of phishing , once primarily relegated to thenfines of email scams, has rapidly morphed into a multifaceted menace. As the digital landscape evolves, this risk is no longer related to t emailrrespondence. Phishing now casts a treacher across social media platforms and mobile devices.
If ignored and not properly protected against, these threats can have significantnsequences, including identity theft, data breaches, and financial loss.
Keep reading to understand social media and mobile threats, how phishing occurs on these platforms, and learn steps to prevent being victimized.
What Is a Social Media Threat?
Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, provide fraudsters with a plethora of victim information and an easy way to access it.
In a social media phishing attack, a scammer creates a fake aunt or phony link, often under a popular topic or trending hashtag, which realers may share or like. Once a legitimateer clicks on the link, they're redirected to a fake login page that captures their login credentials, enabling the scammer to takentrol of the aunt.
How Social Media Phishing Works
With social media phishing attacks, it may appear that the mege ising from a legitimate source.
In reality, attackerse images, logos, and phrases that aim to benvincing enough to trick theer into believing they are dealing with a legitimate aunt. This type of phishing can be particularly danger bece the attack can happen in real-time, making it difficult forers to identify what's happening and take proactiveuntermeasures.
Preventing Social Media Phishing
To avoid bing a victim of social media phishing,ers should avoid clicking on links in social media posts or direct meges if it's not from a legitimate source.
It's also a good idea to inspect the URL of the site theer is directed to before entering any login credentials, as attackers oftene websites with URLs that mimic the site they're imitating, with only small changes or omissions. For example, WWW.TheRealURLuld be WWW.TheR3alURL
What Is a Mobile Threat?
Mobile threats involve criminal attempts topromise mobile devices by adding malware or apps that exploit vulnerabilities. Once the phone is infected with malware, the scammer might have access to all the data stored on the device: fromntacts to credit cards, personal information, and beyond.
How Mobile Phishing Works
Mobile phishinges in several forms, and each works a bit differently:
Phishing Texts – Known as“smishing,” this attack works similarly to email or social media phishing-cyberattackers send a text mege that looks like it came from a known institution, directing the victim to click on a provided link and give sensitive information Phishing Voice Calls- Called“vishing,” this is similar to smishing but with a phone call-cybercriminals call and claim to be from a known institution Fraudulent app distribution Bo social media channels
Smishing works similarly to email or social media phishing-cyberattackers send a text mege that looks like it came from a known institution, directing the victim to click on a provided link and give sensitive information. Fraudulent app distribution is another popular form, where attackers disguise malware as an existing app to gain access toer data.
Finally, bo social media channels, often Twitter aunts that impersonate popularpanies, areed to gain access to private information.
Preventing Mobile Phishing
To prevent falling for a mobile phishing scam,ers should ignore meges from unknown senders, particularly those that promise freebies or massive diunts. It's crucial to download apps only from the official app store, as attackers often create fake apps that appear genuine but actuallyntain malware. Finally, like with social media phishing, be cauti when clicking on links from a social media source or even a search engine, as these can bepromised as well.
Bottom Line: Phishing Is Evolving
Phishing attacks are a growingncern for both individuals and inesses and with cybercrime foing on social media and mobile devices, it's be critical thaters follow the best practices for protecting themselves.
By staying aware of the risks of social media and mobile phishing and following simple steps like avoiding unknown senders and downloading tted apps from legitimate sources,ers may significantly reduce their risk of falling victim to these scams.