What is phishing and fraud, and how can you help your customers avoid it?

Edee Carey2020-07-01

What is phishing and fraud?

Fake emails and SMSs are used to collect and take advantage of personal data. This can lead to financial losses, loss of personal identity and other serious negative indications. Phishing is used to steal personal data such as credit card numbers, passwords or other personal or financial information. The receiver is tricked to open the message, which can be received as SMS or e-mail. This usual contains an infected URL which will lead to the reveal of personal data.

How to identify fraud and phishing?

There are several things you can do to protect yourself. Phishing emails and SMSs may look like they’re from a company you know or trust: a bank/credit card company, a social networking site or an online store. Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. They may:

Say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts
Claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information
Say you must confirm some personal information
Include a fake invoice
Want you to click on a link to make a payment
Say you’re eligible to register for a government refund
Offer a coupon for free stuff

What can you do to avoid fraud and phishing?

Don’t rush to click on any link or do anything immediately
Look at the domain name, not just the sender and look for a mismatch
Look at the email body itself – sometimes it’s poorly written (automated translation)
Look for suspicious attachments – this is where 90% of the attacks are happening
Inspect the message’s grammar and look for implied sense of urgency
Sensitive data is usually not sent by SMS or email by trusted service providers
Are you receiving the message unexpectedly? Make sure you can relate the SMS or email to a certain purchase or context

Build trust by using Google Verified SMS

Google Verified SMS helps customers confirm the identity of a business that sends the messages. When consumers have set Verified SMS as “on” in settings, they will be able to receive messages from trusted brands by showing a rich profile consisting of logo, company name and description. This secures your customers and builds trust to your brand.