While cybercriminals create new malware strains or look for software vulnerabilities to exploit, other criminal minds happily rely on an old, yet effective, trick: phishing scams. Such scams persist because people still fall for fraudulent email that asks recipients to reveal personal information or download an attachment containing malware.
Advanced anti-phishing features for Gmail
Gmail gets anti-phishing enhancements
Although hackers continue to develop new viruses and bug exploits, the most effective weapon in their arsenal is a simple email. All a would-be cybercriminal has to do is write a convincing message (or pretend to be a trustworthy entity) to persuade a victim to download a malware-ridden file or surrender their personal information.
Android Gmail gets phishing protections
Phishing scams, whereby cybercriminals masquerade as trustworthy entities to fool victims into disclosing private information, have had a recent surge in popularity. This is largely because hackers realize the best way to infiltrate a system is by exploiting people’s trust.