Phishing attacks are prevalent more than any other form of cybercrime and are becoming increasingly tricky to spot. Whether it is emails, texts or social media posts, phishing scams are always sent without being requested and are usually too good to be true. Common red flags include requests for payment in gift cards, cryptocurrency, or money from people or companies that the recipient does not know or aren’t familiar with. To prevent oneself from falling into a phisherman’s trap, it is important to be skeptical of unsolicited messages and to not click on any links or download any attachments. It is also recommended to update all digital security software such as antivirus programs, passwords and two-factor authentication. Furthermore, if credit information has been compromised, a credit freeze should be a consideration to protect any future identity theft.
ChatGPT is the artificial intelligence tool that is used to help boost the power of phishing attacks. It has grown by leaps and bounds due to its simplification of the process of personalizing attacks. This allows scammers to mine personal data from places like social media and incorporate it into their schemes, making them seem more credible.
The FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center reported that more than 300,000 complaints were sent, with a total of $52 million lost, to them in the past year due to phishing attacks. Meanwhile, the cybersecurity company Vade reported that the number of emails detected by their systems had doubled to 560 million in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the fourth quarter of 2022.
The person mentioned in this article is someone who falls victims to romance scams. This particular person has been targeted for a staggering $1.3 billion in losses last year according to the Federal Trade Commission. This person has been targeted with emails from people claiming to be escaping from war in Ukraine or from an armed individual who believes the person to be attractive. The advice to following such situations is to only donate to established charities that can be found from the companies website or from trusted sources. Never provide money or gift cards to scammers.
The company mentioned in the article is Vade, a cybersecurity company that detected that the number of phishing emails in the first quarter of 2021 had more than doubled to 560 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2022. Vade’s mission is to filter out spam, scam emails and malware that come attached to them. They also update their software always to know of newer threats and ensure maximum protection for customers.
