Depending on the specific circumstances, someone who engages in phishing may be subject to criminal charges. Nevertheless, many criminals use these fraudulent scams to deceive people throughout Pennsylvania and the rest of America. There are many different types of phishing scams that potential victims should be aware of.
Deceptive phishing is considered to be the most frequently occurring form of the phishing scam. It refers to attacks in which imposters impersonate legitimate companies in order to steal personal data or login credentials. An alarming sense of urgency is often employed in order to prompt the users to comply with the attacker’s commands.
Whether or not a deceptive phishing scam is successful depends on how well the attack email can mimic the email of a legitimate company. Individuals can thwart deceptive phishing scams by carefully examining URLs to determine if they point to an unknown site. Generic salutations, spelling mistakes and grammar errors are also common throughout these types of emails.
Spear phishing is a customized form of scam in which the email that is sent to the target contains the recipient’s name, job title, name of employer and workplace telephone number. This type of information could fool the recipient into believing that the connection with the sender is genuine.
Social media sites are popular areas for spear phishing as multiple sources of data can be used by the attackers to create targeted emails. The objective of spear phishing is the same as that of deceptive phishing, which is to obtain personal data by having the recipient click on unsafe email attachments or URLs.
A criminal defense attorney can advise someone who has been charged with white-collar crimes, such as phishing, about their legal options. The lawyer may consider the factors of a case and the client’s criminal history before suggesting legal strategies.
