Think Before you click: Protecting yourself from phishing

By: Vanna karthik; Vel Tech University, Chennai, India

Abstract

In today’s digital world, phishing is still an ongoing threat that takes advantage of people and companies by impersonating trusted institutions in order to obtain confidential data. The nature of phishing assaults, their effects on victims, and self-defense techniques are all examined in this paper. It highlights how important awareness and attentiveness are to reducing these risks. Based on an analysis of current defense measures and an analysis of the latest methods attackers are using, this study provides practical insight into how people can identify and avoid phishing attacks successfully. The results make it crystal clear that digital security is best guarded with a combination of critical thinking, technology, and education.

Introduction

While the internet has revolutionized trade and communication, it has also facilitated cybercrime. The most common risk is phishing, a devious scheme to deceive people into revealing private information such as social security numbers, credit card numbers, and passwords[1]. The growing sophistication of phishing assaults makes them a serious threat to both organizational security and individual privacy. In addition to examining the dangers of phishing and its several forms, this paper will provide helpful advice on how to avoid being a target of such schemes.

Literature review

Because of its increasing significance, phishing research has attracted a lot of interest recently. Phishing is a psychological and technological issue, according to researchers, with attackers using social engineering techniques and taking advantage of weaknesses in online platforms. for example, stress that human mistake, not technical defects, is frequently the deciding factor in phishing success[2]. how interface design may help or hinder phishing attempts, highlighting the significance of user education[3].

Phishing attacks rely on people’s curiosity and confidence in communications with evil intentions camouflaged as genuine ones. Always confirm the identity of the sender before opening attachments or clicking links in order to keep yourself safe. Messages requesting personal information or any urgent action are better to avoid. To improve account security, multi-factor authentication and the creation of strong, one-of-a-kind passwords are good. Update security tools and software from time to time to protect against new threats. Be aware of the two hottest phishing methods: website spoofing and URL-based spear phishing. In case your money or identity data is under question, a piece of critical thinking and one moment before a click can save you really.

Many phishing e-mails come through with forged identity from real organizations like banks, internet vendors, or any governmental organizations in trying to deceive readers. Look out for suspicious signs that it may include greeting like “Dear Customer,” disparate domains, grammar problems. DO NOT click any shortened/suspicious URL, as those may direct a user to harmful websites.[4]. Always hover over links to determine what they will direct you to and whether the sender’s claim is justified. If unsure, do not reply to the message but rather contact the organization directly through their verified contact information. Remember, no legitimate organization will email you requesting sensitive information such as passwords. It is important to be aware of such strategies and be open-minded in order not to allow phishing attempts to be successful.

Further, real-time phishing website detection and blocking methods have been developed using machine learning algorithms. Education forms an essential part of any anti-phishing approach, since in spite of these developments, there is still a persistent awareness gap among users.

Think Before you Click

1. Examine the address of the sender.
2. Verify the grammar and spelling.
3. Examine the URL before clicking[5].

Methodology

A mixed-methods approach is used in this study to examine phishing trends and defense tactics. To evaluate the frequency and effects of phishing, numerical data was gathered from  cybersecurity reports. The study presents a thorough analysis of the issue and offers helpful suggestions for enhancing personal defenses against phishing scams.

Conclusion

Phishing, which takes advantage of human weaknesses to steal private data, is still a serious risk in the digital world. A complex strategy that incorporates awareness, critical thinking, and the usage of cutting-edge security technology is needed to protect oneself from phishing. This study highlights the need of “thinking before clicking” as a key strategy for thwarting phishing. We can greatly lower the success rate of phishing assaults and improve cybersecurity by encouraging a culture of alertness and educating users about the changing strategies of cybercriminals.

References

1. A. Aleroud and L. Zhou, “Phishing environments, techniques, and countermeasures: A survey,” Comput. Secur., vol. 68, pp. 160–196, Jul. 2017, doi: 10.1016/j.cose.2017.04.006.
2. “1-s2.0-S0167404824000373-main.pdf,” Google Docs. Accessed: Dec. 31, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gvf9vWWbDLxZQwwYbnMMbu6gBR0Bqp4-/view?usp=drive_web&usp=embed_facebook
3. M. Alsharnouby, F. Alaca, and S. Chiasson, “Why phishing still works: User strategies for combating phishing attacks,” Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Stud., vol. 82, pp. 69–82, Oct. 2015, doi: 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.05.005.
4. “1-s2.0-S0167404824000373-main.pdf,” Google Docs. Accessed: Jan. 02, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gvf9vWWbDLxZQwwYbnMMbu6gBR0Bqp4-/view?usp=drive_web&usp=embed_facebook
5. Alsmirat, M. A., Jararweh, Y., Al-Ayyoub, M., Shehab, M. A., & Gupta, B. B. (2017). Accelerating compute intensive medical imaging segmentation algorithms using hybrid CPU-GPU implementations. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 76, 3537-3555.
6. Poonia, V., Goyal, M. K., Gupta, B. B., Gupta, A. K., Jha, S., & Das, J. (2021). Drought occurrence in different river basins of India and blockchain technology based framework for disaster management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 312, 127737.
7. REDDY K.T (2023) Machine Learning and AI in Phishing Detection, Insights2Techinfo, pp.1

Cite As

Karthik V. (2025) Think Before you click: Protecting yourself from phishing, Insights2techinfo pp.1

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