Phishing is considered to be one of the most widespread and the most threatening means of online scam as it addresses human psychology and is not a matter of technology. Not everyone knows that careless users are the only ones who fall prey to phishing because the phishing schemes are created to appear authentic and necessary. Fear, pressure and fake authority are some of the techniques that scammers apply to make individuals do things without giving it a second thought. Such messages as Your account will be blocked, Your parcel is delayed, Urgent KYC update needed, or Suspicious login detected make people panic. Privacy awareness tells us that phishing is not intelligent, but emotional manipulation.

Phishing occurs via the SMS, e-mail, WhatsApp, social media DMs, even on the phone call. The scam objective will be to have victims use fake links, download malicious files, or provide OTP and passwords. Scammers tend to imitate the logos and formats of banks, the government services, courier services and popular brands. Education teaches one to watch sender identity. One might be a message that appears official and most likely the truth will be known through the link domain. Phishing is often through the use of fake domains.

One of the largest phishing techniques is the establishment of the urgency. Scam messages originate with the words within 10 minutes, today only or action is needed now. This is urgent with the aim of preventing rational thought process. The golden rule that one gets to know through awareness is not to panic in anything. Pause, check and verify using official site or application. When this is actually a company message, then you can operate the service directly and not by clicking the link. Relaxed decision-making is phishing protection.

Impersonation is another technique. Fraudsters disguise themselves as customer services, bank employees, police officers, courier service providers, and human resource recruiters. They can make use of technical terminologies to make it sound professional. The knowledge is that the real customer support never requires OTP, passwords, and complete card details. OTP is meant to be private. Passing OTP is tantamount to granting access. The user is assured in privacy awareness to refuse and authenticate.

The device habits are also part of phishing protection. Users are not to download unfamiliar APKs and to press random attachments. Awareness would promote the updating of the security of devices, the use of secure browsers and the maintenance of antivirus protection where necessary. Fraudsters usually employ fraudulent files under the pretext of a bill or an invoice. Good tone of browsing minimizes the chances of getting infected. Security is exercised everyday.

Finally, the phishing awareness is necessary, as the number of phishing attacks is growing and more professional. The knowledge of how to defend oneself, checking habits, and relaxation of thought is the best. Once you know how to screen such phishing, you are far more difficult to defraud. Digital confidence and safety are developed due to privacy awareness.