Understanding Spear Phishing Attacks: How to Spot and Avoid Targeted Scams

Spear phishing is highly targeted and tailored to specific individuals or organizations. Attackers conduct extensive research to personalize their approach, making these attacks more convincing than mass phishing attempts.

The usual phishing that has been common for years are messages sent out randomly to millions of emails. The hope is to catch someone who bites the bait on a scammer’s hook. The message may seem personal, but these messages are designed to cast a wide net.

How Spear Phishing is Different

Spear phishers don’t rely on random emails. They often use information from your social media or breached data that contains information about you personally to make their messages appear more legitimate.

Breached data is often stolen from legitimate accounts you may hold and sold on the dark web to cybercriminals. They craft realistic and trustworthy messages that are more likely to deceive their targets. When a scam is personalized, it can be come a powerful method for psychological manipulation.

Spear Phishing Red Flags to Look For

We live busy lives. As humans, we are multitaskers, and some of us want to get things done as quickly as possible. But even in a relaxed frame of mind, we may respond quickly to shocking or appealing content that appeals to our emotions. However, when interacting online, we need to stay vigilant.

It’s ok to be an internet skeptic, especially when we know there are unscrupulous people on the internet who wish to scam us. Here are some red flags to watch for when receiving emails.

Look for unfamiliar or alternate email addresses:

There may be misspelled names or domain names that are easy to detect if you are looking closely.

For example, your friend John Doe may have an email like [email protected]. But when you look closely the domain may have been altered to be [email protected]. Or the misspelling may be in the personal name:   i.e.  [email protected].  These misspellings are easy to miss.

Urgent Requests:

Be wary of messages that stress the need for immediate action. Spear phishers often create a sense of urgency to pressure targets into acting quickly without verifying the legitimacy of the request. This may include an urgent demand to transfer money or provide login credentials in an email or an account.

Unexpected Attachments or Links:

If you were not expecting an email from a social media account, company, or a friend, do not open attachments.  And do not click on links until verifying with the sender directly.

Unusual Tone or Language:

If the message seems highly out of character for the person it’s supposed to be from, this is a warning sign that something is off.

Don’t Get Hooked by Spear Phishing

Never respond to a suspicious email to ask for more information before taking any action. Instead, verify the request using a separate and trusted communication method, such as calling the person on the phone or emailing an alternate email they may have.

When doing anything that is connected to the internet—whether surfing the web, interacting with texts, or checking your email—always remember to slow down and review the details.

Remain skeptical and aware that cybercriminals are always at work devising new methods to steal information or money from their victims.

Sadly, spear phishing attacks are another way cyber attacks are becoming more sophisticated.