Managed IT San Jose: How Avoid Being Lured to a Cloned Website and Making Your Data Vulnerable

Phishing scams are some of the most prevalent forms of cyber attack there are. Over 30% of the phishing emails sent across the world get opened. Once opened they send the unsuspecting user to a cloned website.

Cloned websites are a trap that makes your sensitive data vulnerable. Protecting yourself from this type of attack is vital.

How do you spot the signs of URL phishing and how can you protect yourself?

In this article, we’ll talk about how understanding the threats and how managed IT in San Jose can help you protect your vulnerable data.

What Is a Phishing Scam?

A phishing scam is an online scam that will start off with an email. This email will look just like a regular email that you might get from a company whose services you use online.

The email will be fake. It will be cloned to look like it is from a recognizable source.

In the email, there will be instructions that tell you that you need to do something to your account. It may tell you there is a problem that needs addressing urgently.

Believing the email to be real, the recipient will take the bait and follow the link.

How Do Phishing Scams Work?

Phishing scams center around a cloned website. It would be a website that you know well and use. Once you follow the link to the website through the email, you’ll find yourself at the cloned website where you’ll be asked to enter your login details.

The website is just there to collect your valuable login details. When you try and login, you’ll pass on your details to cybercriminals.

Once the hackers have your login credentials, they’ll be able to access your account on the legitimate site. This could give them access to your bank details, email, credit cards, cloud backups and more.

What Is a Cloned Website?

A cloned website is a site that looks a lot like a legitimate site that you might use often such as eBay or Amazon. The logo, branding, and look and feel of the site will be very similar. Even the URL for the site might appear to be correct.

A cloned website will only serve to try and capture your login details, so it won’t necessarily have all of the functions of the legitimate site. That said, there are some very detailed cloned websites out there that have a great deal of detail.

How Can You Spot a Phishing Email?

Although many phishing emails are very well made, there are ways that you can spot them.

These include:

• Checking the sender’s address to make sure it looks correct
• Looking for spelling or grammar errors in the email
• Checking to see if the email is addressed to you personally

If you are ever in doubt about the validity of an email, you should never click any links from it.

How Can You Avoid Phishing Scams?

Phishing awareness is vital for everyone using the internet. There are several ways that you can avoid phishing scams:

• Look for clues that reveal the email is fake
• Don’t click on any links — instead, visit the site directly
• Get in touch with any companies to report the potential scam — they’ll be able to confirm whether it is a scam or not
• Keep your browser up-to-date
• Make sure your firewall is updated
• Check your online bank accounts often to ensure nobody has had access to them
• Log into your accounts occasionally to make sure nobody has accessed them
• Keep up to date by learning about the latest phishing scams

By following these tips you will be able to avoid getting phished and keep your vulnerable data safe.

The Dangers of Phishing in the Workplace

Businesses are very much at risk from phishing scams. Often, emails will be sent to company email addresses in an attempt to lure unwitting employees into clicking on links to cloned websites.

To protect your business from the dangers of phishing scams you should educate your employees on the dangers of phishing scams and what to look for.

How Can You Protect Your Data?

There are several ways that you can protect your data from phishing attacks, particularly if you run your own business.

One of the first and most important things is to make sure that you have good antivirus software installed on your devices. Anything that is connected to the internet will be liable to get hacked. Make sure it is protected. Keep this software up-to-date at all times.

You should ensure that you have a firewall set-up to protect you from attack. Again, make sure that you carry out regular updates so that this gives you the protection you need.

Carry out all updates to your operating system. Often, these are security updates and will patch any vulnerability that hackers may access your device through.

You could also install anti-phishing extensions on your web browser to make sure that you have that extra layer of protection.

Finally, if you run a business, you’ll need maximum protection. A managed IT services company will be able to provide this. In addition to continuous monitoring of your system, you’ll be able to get support when you need it.

Sign up for Managed IT in San Jose Today

To protect your business from phishing scams and cloned websites, Sagacent Technologies provides Managed IT in San Jose. This includes remote support, disaster recovery, audits and assessments, and security.

To find out more about the services that we offer or to sign up for our support, get in touch today.

Sagacent Technologies offers technology management and support, including proactive/preventative maintenance, onsite and offsite data back-ups, network and security audits, mobility solutions, disaster planning, and emergency business resumption services. The company serves clients of 10 to 150 employees within the Silicon Valley region.