Everybody has a smartphone today and most individuals are using their smartphones for just about everything. Unfortunately, the increased prevalence of mobile devices means greater opportunities for cyber criminals. Mobile phishing is on the rise, and the San Diego IT support experts at Syndeo share a few tips for how you can protect yourself.
What is Mobile Phishing?
Phishing is phishing regardless of the end device, be it a computer, laptop or smartphone. Someone fools you into clicking a link in what looks like a legitimate email, website or message, tricking you into revealing personal information. This data, including credit card numbers, social security numbers, passwords, banking information and more is then used by criminals for profit.
For example, you could receive an email claiming to be from your bank. A link in this email takes you to a site, expertly crafted by cyber criminals to look just like your bank’s page, where you’re asked to verify personal information. Once you’ve done that, the criminals can drain your real bank account, open new lines of credit in your name and more.
How Can I Protect Myself?
Mobile phishing is on the rise due to smartphones. Most of us simply don’t treat them with the care we would with our home desktops. Today, mobile users are three times more likely to be victims of phishing than home users. So how can you protect yourself?
The rule of thumb to protect against mobile phishing is to apply the same guidelines you would at home to your mobile device. At home, when you receive an email from your bank asking for personal information, it’s advised you don’t click on anything. Call your bank instead. The same applies here. The immediacy of smartphone messages makes it easy to just click a link, however it’s recommended to wait until you have time to verify the sender. You may also look into email security services to help reduce the amount of spam received on your email accounts.
Other things that you can do to protect your smartphone:
- Don’t install apps unless you’ve done your homework
- Double check addresses when running searches from your smartphone
- Be wary of calls from unknown callers
- Register your phone with donotcall.org
- Don’t connect to unknown networks
- Install a valid antivirus/antimalware app from a known provider
Have other questions about IT support? Call (760) 650-3300 and speak with a professional tech expert from our San Diego IT consulting firm. We’re more than happy to answer questions and we offer free consultations, so reach out to us today!