We all see phishing emails all the time these days. In fact, I just cleaned out probably 300+ from the 4000 spam emails in my customer’s spam filter this morning. A phishing email is an email that is faked from a bank or similar in order to get you log into a fake site so that a “bad guy” can get your login credentials (user name and password) or other sensitive information such as credit cards, etc.

Today I was forwarded an email from a business owner who is a customer of ours. It was an email stating our Google AdWords account needed to be updated. Usually anything that is even to the effect of “Update your account information” I automatically delete. But this was a really weird situation since we actually manage this customer’s Google AdWords account (legitimizing the email to some degree) and since usually [hising emails are faked to be from a bank or Paypal (had never seen for Google AdWords).

Instead of immediately deleting it, I actually clicked the link the email and went to the fake site before realizing what it was! I noticed in time and didn’t login or anything but a relatively close call! I sell security services among other things for a living, and like a total novice, I went to a phishing site. So, the moral of the story is that in my opinion, NO ONE should think they are safe or are too smart for these scams. In an odd moment, a con (and these guys are definitely cons) can trick and cheat almost anyone.

So keep your guard up when cleaning your inbox! (And if you are a customer and wonder about an email you got, ask us first)

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