Have you ever received an email or text message that had a suspicious link? If so, you’ve been targeted by someone running a phishing scam.
Phishing is a dangerous type of scam where people will try and get you to open a malicious link with the intent of stealing your password and other sensitive information. Unfortunately, clicking the link and entering information will give that information directly to scammers, and sometimes, simply opening the link is enough to get you into trouble.
While phishing has been around for a while, clone phishing is becoming more popular by the day. This method of phishing is done by scammers who will copy important documents and links word-for-word to try and fool you. The result is an email or text message that is indistinguishable unless you really look closely. Thankfully, we’re here to help and this article takes you through everything you need to know about clone phishing.
What Is Clone Phishing?
Clone phishing is a unique type of phishing that involves someone copying a legitimate email or message and sending it to someone with the intent to steal their information. What makes clone phishing different from traditional phishing scams is that the emails will look more legitimate and may even be a word-for-word copy of company information. This gives the email more credibility and makes it easier for people to fall victim to the scam.
The way clone phishing works is also complex compared to your average phishing scam. First, scammers have to intercept an email from a company and then copy that information. Then, scammers will either create an email that’s similar to the company’s email or spoof an email using that company’s domain. From there, they’ll send the email to employees or customers of a company hoping to get them to click a link within the email.
What makes these emails dangerous is how they’re used because people may have received the exact same email in the past with no issues.
How to Spot Clone Phishing
Clone phishing is harder to spot than your average phishing attack. This is due to the fact that scammers will copy information from legitimate emails or phone messages. The good news is that we have a few tricks up our sleeve to help you spot clone phishing.
1. Information.com
If you want to spot clone phishing, a great tool you can leverage is Information.com. Whether you need to run an email through the tool or check a phone number, Information.com gives you plenty of resources to help you identify the sender of an email or text. What’s more, Information.com has specific tools for these occasions ranging from email lookup tools to reverse phone lookup tools, so you have several ways to identify someone.
Information.com is a great choice because it combs through millions of public record databases to bring you accurate information. Once you get to the full report you can discover someone’s identity ranging from their name down to their last criminal incident.
2. Check for Urgency
Does an email from a company seem more urgent than usual? Or have you noticed that the entire email reads more like a call to action rather than a message from a company? If so, there’s a chance that someone is trying to make you open links without putting much thought into it.
Therefore, if a subject line says urgent or the beginning of an email starts with something like Please open this link immediately, you might be dealing with a phishing scam.
3. Check the Link
There are a handful of online tools you can leverage to check the link to see if it’s harmful. These tools allow you to copy and paste the link without opening it, so you don’t have to worry about any backlash or data breaches
That said, it’s important to note that if you open an email from a suspicious sender there’s a chance that the scammer already accomplished what they wanted to by finding out that your email account is active. To avoid this, it’s better to use a tool like Information.com instead.
Avoid Clone Phishing Today!
The best way to avoid clone phishing is to keep a closer eye on any messages that come your way. If someone is sending you a link to anything, make sure you run the link though a tool that lets you know if it’s harmful. What’s more, it’s always a great idea to use an email lookup tool like Information.com to verify the sender’s identity.
Following these two tips will go a long way in preventing you from falling victim to clone phishing scams.
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