As recently there have been increased reports of sending deceptive phishing messages to e-mail, mobile phone and social media users, the National Cyber ​​Security Authority of the Ministry of Digital Governance recalls useful guidelines to enhance the security and privacy of citizens.

Phishing is an act of deceiving internet users, in which the sender impersonates a trusted entity, organization or person who invites the recipient of the message to follow the instructions given to them. These instructions may ask the recipient to follow a link or provide their data, such as sensitive private information, passwords, identity or passport details, bank account, bank card and others. Furthermore, in recent days there has been an increased number of messages regarding tax refunds or allowances.

Citizens are invited to be especially careful, as plausible as the sender or the messages they receive, so that they do not fall victim to fraudsters who act in this way. Here are some practical tips to protect against this type of attack (phishing attacks).

-You should never give personal information (e.g. e-Banking codes, card numbers/PINs, passwords, username) to alleged intermediaries, law firms, accountants, or other solicitors for alleged service (e.g. .in matters of government subsidy, Power/Fuel/Tourism for all or other cases such as room rental etc).

-You should access through the official website of the institution, organization or bank or through the application on your mobile phone (app) and not through links from a message or email you received, search engines or other websites.

-If you received a suspicious email, before acting you should contact your partners or the alleged sender to verify its authenticity.

-You should check the sender address carefully. Phishing emails often have sender addresses unrelated to the purported sender.

-You should consider the type of information you are being asked for. Even if the message you received appears genuine, it is unlikely that any agency, bank or company will contact you via email to ask for personal information, bank or credit card details, or other personal or sensitive data.

-You should be cautious if the message creates a sense of urgency. Attackers often try to exert pressure using this tactic.

-You should also be wary of tax refund or allowance messages.

-A thorough grammar and spelling check is effective as typos and poor grammar are often characteristic of phishing emails.

-There are several security and anti-malware solutions (antispamming) that include functions to identify and reject malicious messages.