WISCONSIN – If you’ve clicked an unsuspecting link and then discovered your personal information, like your Social Security number or banking information, had been compromised, you were likely the victim of a ‘phishing’ attack. And reports of attacks like those doubled from 2022 to 2023, according to the Wisconsin Better Business Bureau.
A phishing attack is when a hacker sends a message containing a link or image. If the receiver opens the link or image, the hacker could gain access to their digital information. During an interview on Wisconsin’s Midday News, Senior Director of Investigations for BBB Lisa Schiller said they’ve seen hackers regularly pretend to be companies and demand ‘payment’ of a bill.
“We’ve seen the name ‘Target’ and the name ‘Walmart’ used a lot in the past 12 months,” Schiller said. “There’s computer tech scams, claiming to be Microsoft and that you have to pay your bill. Then there’s B.E.C. scams, which are ‘Business Email Compromise’ scams which businesses see, and that can be such a large amount of loss.”
BBB’s Scam Tracker recorded over 9,000 reports of phishing attacks in 2023 and expect 2024 to be a record year as well.
Schiller said some attacks come over emails, while other come in the form of text messages.
“That’s been another nasty one recently, people getting text messages where they are told it is U.S.P.S. and they have to click on a link to verify their address and receive their package. So many people are ordering for delivery now … I can see where people go ‘Gosh, I better click on this link because I’m waiting for this package to arrive.'”
According to Schiller, one of the biggest red flags for phishing attempts is “unsolicited links” in text messages or emails.
Institutions are also unlikely to prompt you to action over text.
“Generally, your bank or your credit card company is not going to contact you in that way,” Schiller said. “If there’s an issue or they need to verify something, they are going to pick up the phone and call you.”
Finally, a phishing attack might claim your account is showing suspicious activity, someone tried to log in to your account, or attempts to ‘confirm’ financial information.
