Phishing problem more topical than ever - those affected should protect themselves

One of the biggest media phishing attacks came with corona: the countries' aid portals were copied in rows and applicants entered their data on the fraudsters' portals. As a result, the money was paid out - but not to those affected, whose bank details had been changed by the fraudsters. Phishing is therefore more topical than ever before. But what can those affected do to protect themselves?

Figure 1: Phishing is still very topical - but what should users be aware of to increase their own security? Image source: @ Pixelcreatures / Pixabay.com

How big is the scale?

To the layman, phishing sounds like a bad joke by petty criminals. However, anyone who the phishing infographic from Betrugstest.com you realize how huge the problem is:

• Annual loss - In Germany alone, between 40 and 70 million euros in damage is caused each year purely by phishing.
• Banks - to 25 percent of banks are affected by phishing. In the years 2010 to 2015 alone, a financial loss of over 123 million euros was caused in Germany.

Particularly frequently affected are sites offering erotic accessories, where millions are also made. Here you should rather go to a more reputable site such as https://lovefreund.de/marken reach.

Phishing is an identity crime, as the fraudster assumes the identity of another person via a website, email or other form and presents it. In the most recent cases involving coronavirus aid, the government application pages were copied and cleverly placed in search engines so that applicants did not come across the real page, but the phishing page instead. There, of course, all the information was provided that was also required on the correct page. This application was then "processed" in the background and corrected with regard to the bank details before the application was forwarded to the official office. As a result, the federal state paid the aid money - but to the account used by the fraudsters.

How does phishing work and what can victims do?

Phishing always works by copying a website or using letters that appear to come from the official body. This is the reason why phishing is considered an identity crime - the fraudsters assume the identity of the affected body on the outside. Unfortunately, the fraudsters have also become better and better in recent years and appear absolutely genuine at first glance. In principle, consumers should therefore:

• Emails - Banks, insurance companies and official bodies do not send e-mails except via their own program. Consumers should therefore never respond to an e-mail or even follow the link if they are contacted via normal e-mail.
• Check websites - You can find out a lot about the signature of a website. In addition, websites should always be encrypted. You should also never use links to banks, insurance companies or public bodies that appear in search engines or in any posts on social networks.
• Inquiries - If something seems strange to a consumer, they should ask by phone or via the contact function in the official app, for example.

Those affected, however, should report every case of phishing to the police, even if they themselves have not suffered any damage. Without a report, the fraudsters cannot be traced and can continue their mischief in the future.

Conclusion - the profit with counterfeits

Fraudsters generate millions worldwide with phishing sites or phishing emails. If a victim enters their login details into the fake form, the fraudster has access to the real account - whether it's online shopping, online banking or an insurance portal. However, if you are careful and treat every e-mail and website with skepticism at first, you have a good chance, to protect yourself.