[0:09]Friday is Rob's favorite day of the week. Well, usually it is. It'll take him hours to get through all those blasted emails. Problem, problem, problem. Couldn't just one email be about something else? Wait, what's this? Miracle hair growth cream! Have Rob's dreams finally come true? All Rob needs to do is follow the link and give up all his personal information and a little selfie inside the office. Ah, not quite quick enough my poor chap. A full head of hair eludes you once again.
[0:54]Well, it's time for home now. Rob may not have won, but at least he doesn't have anything to worry about for Monday morning. Rob is ready to take on another week of work. Josie doesn't look quite so happy though. What's this? A data breach? Someone gave up all their personal information to a cyber criminal? Surely it couldn't have been from a miracle hair growth quiz. Oh dear. Let's rewind a bit and see what went wrong. Rob received an unexpected email but didn't stop to think. The email wasn't from a misunderstood genius behind a miracle cream at all. But from a cyber criminal, a criminal that sends out fake emails to try and fish for credentials or private information. This is called fishing. The information can then be used to impersonate you, access private data, or send out further fishing emails to your colleagues. But how could Rob have known it was a fishing email? Let's take a closer look. Any unexpected email you receive should be analyzed with caution. Check the domain name of the email to see if it looks like the email is from a legitimate source. Look out for mistakes or misspelling in the email. A rare occurrence in emails from legitimate companies. It's not looking good, is it Rob? Anytime you are asked to give up personal details, exercise a high level of caution. Think about whether you trust who you are giving this information to. If an email claims to be very urgent or important, you should take a step back and consider whether it is trying to get you to overlook your normal good judgment. And if you're ever not completely sure if an email is legitimate, it never hurts to double check with the IT department, they'll be there to help you whenever you need them.
[2:54]Phishing emails are malicious emails in disguise that seek out private information. To prevent this, you should: Exercise caution when an email tries to create a sense of urgency. Avoid following links or downloading attachments on unexpected emails. Check the domain name of any email you receive is correct. Never give up personal information unless you are sure who you are giving it to.
