Duck Season or Phishing Season?
That’s not a typo!! Phishing is a method in which companies may fraudulently try to get information (banking, personal, etc) from you. Phishing can happen via emails, via websites even texts. Why do experienced people fall for it? Because the “phishermen” (or phisherwomen) (or phiserpeople) are getting very sophisticated with techniques, they can write emails, create websites, and fabricate links that look very legitimate.
What does it look like?
Think of any of the financial institutions that you use. Do you receive emails from them? What do the emails look like? Are you addressed by your first name? Is your account number partially blocked out? Are there typographical or grammatical errors? Does the email appear professional? In other words, if phishers are getting more sophisticated in their techniques to get your information – YOU will need to be savvier and scrutinize communications to avoid getting hooked. Here are some things to be aware of:
- Email addresses that ARE not from the correct domain (look for misspellings, hyphens, periods, etc.)
- Suspicious links (use your mouse, or hover over a link on your phone to see the domain)
- Threats or sense of urgency that seems unreasonable
Likewise, even experienced sellers have received phishing attempts from what “appears” to be Amazon. Sophisticated techniques, high-quality images, better grammar are all improvements from previously poorly executed emails. So, now that you know what to look for…can you see what’s wrong in this email from Amazon? (BE ALERT!! It’s not legit!)
Need help with your Amazon seller account? Getting Accounts reinstated is our specialty! The experts at Axelligence are here to review your account and work with you to develop a Plan of Action (POA) so that you can get back to business quickly and efficiently! www.axelligence.com