‘Phishing’ Around

Recently, we have been seeing an influx of ‘phishing’ scams. Many of these are coming by text. And they are being sent to business numbers, not just personal numbers.

The definition of phishing from Oxford Languages states the following: ‘the fraudulent practice of sending emails or other messages purporting to be from reputable companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.’ We have personally been receiving one that purports to be from a government agency with threatening action if we do not click on a link and pay a ticket. It has really been quite annoying.

One of the best ways to identify these scams is to look at the phone number texting you or the email address sending you the message. The text we keep receiving comes from a country code 63, the Philippines. Ask yourself why a local state agency would be texting you from the Philippines. They likely would not be! If you search that country code you will see multiple warnings about phishing scams associated with it.

Phishing emails we have seen often come from an obscure or unintelligible email address. And they will often be from a free email. Large companies are not having their employees contact you from their personal account or a corporate gmail or yahoo or hotmail account. We have seen them purportedly from companies like Microsoft or PayPal or Government Agencies, yet again. And they are coming to business owner’s emails, not just personal addresses.

Be wise and look at the detail of the phone number sending you the text or the actual email address sending the message. If you do not recognize it, delete it, report it as junk, and protect your business.

Be well.