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Phishing emails & texts
Phishing messages impersonate a bank, shop, parcel service or authority and push you to a fake login page to "fish" for your passwords, card numbers or other personal data. They lean on urgency and a link that looks almost right.
Warning signs
- A generic greeting ("Dear customer") instead of your name.
- Urgent threat: act now or your account/card will be blocked.
- A link whose visible text differs from where it actually points.
- Requests to "confirm" passwords, PINs, TANs or card data by link.
- Sender address that almost matches the real brand but is off by a character.
Example
Dear customer, we noticed unusual activity on your account. To avoid suspension, confirm your identity within 24 hours: hxxp://secure-bank-verify.com/login
Made-up example - not a real message.
How to protect yourself
- 01Never click links in unexpected messages - open the site yourself via a bookmark or by typing the address.
- 02Banks and authorities never ask for passwords, PINs or TANs by email or text.
- 03Hover over links to preview the real target before tapping.
- 04Turn on two-factor authentication so a stolen password alone is not enough.
Already caught out?
- 01Change the password immediately - and anywhere else you reused it.
- 02Call your bank to block cards/transfers if you entered banking data.
- 03Report it to your local consumer-protection or police cybercrime unit.
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