What's phishing and how do I protect myself against scams?

What's phishing?

Phishing is when hackers trick people into revealing sensitive personal information such as your password or credit card number. Once they have intercepted this information, they can commit various types of fraud by impersonating their victims.  

How does phishing work?

Hackers present themselves as a trustworthy entity, by disguising themselves for example as VIABUY. They send emails or text messages tricking their victim into clicking a link that can lead to the installation of malware or revealing sensitive information such as account details. 

Scammers also create fake websites closely designed to the sites they are mimicking, where logo, brand and content are hardly identifiable as non-genuine.

How can I recognise fake messages? 

• The email is sent from a public domain. Organisations have their own email domain. Even if the sender’s name and the message look genuine, check the part of the address after the @ symbol. If it's e.g. gmail.com or another public domain, the message is coming from a private address and it's probably a scam.
• You receive dubious attachments or links. Always check whether the URL matches the context of the email and only open attachments from trusted sources.
• The email address is misspelt or altered. Read the address carefully. Spelling mistakes or alterations such as additional letters or numbers indicate a scam.
• The salutation is impersonal. Organisations send emails addressed to their customers' names
• The content is poorly written. Typos may always occur, however, you'll hardly find grammar and spelling errors in emails coming from a genuine company.
• You are urged to take immediate action. Usually, a company doesn't require any payment immediately. Payment reminders include a due date, as nobody expects customers to pay in a hurried manner.
• You are asked to provide your login credentials. You should under no circumstances share your password, PIN or other personal information.

How can I recognise scam phone calls?

• The caller asks for your personal information
• You receive offers for buying products that are not related to the business
• The caller threatens consequences if you don't provide money or information
• The caller offers to help you with debt, unpaid taxes, or previous cases of fraud
• The caller uses an unprofessional, hostile language

How can I report phishing attacks?

If you have spotted a fake VIABUY site or received a scam message, please copy the URL, take a screenshot and report it to service@viabuy.com.