What’s the Difference Between Phishing and Blagging?

In today’s digital age, online security has become paramount. It is difficult to not fall into the traps of the scammers. We must be aware of cyber crimes and how to save ourselves from them. Phishing and blagging are two trending cybercrime techniques. While both aim to deceive and steal, they are different with their methods.

In this article, we’ll see what phishing and blagging are and how they affect us. We will also learn to safeguard against cyber threats and report them.

What is Phishing?

The term ‘phishing’ derives from the word ‘fishing’. As the name implies, phishing casts a wide net, hoping to catch clueless victims. It’s a scam that gaslights people with fake emails, messages, or copied websites. Phishing copies real firms to gain trust, tricking us into reveal our details.

They disperse their emails in bulk to spread their reach and potential. They force people into clicking on a link or downloading an attachment. Which has malicious viruses and bugs, further breaching our safety.

How Phishing Affects

Phishing attacks can have dire effects on people and companies. They can lose money, have data stolen, and face identity theft. They further cause data breaches, malware, reputation damage, and legal issues.

Signs of Phishing

Urgency:

Phishing emails create a panic situation, pressuring people to act fast. They blackmail into ending a good deal, losing money, or deleting the account. These are the tricks to threaten us to take immediate action.

Vague information and requests:

Phishing emails contain incomplete or misleading content. These might request sensitive, personal, or financial data requests. The mail content might seem compelling enough to deceive, but be aware.

Unprofessional Messages:

You can find grammatical mistakes and poor usage of punctuation. Experts do not write their emails, and they can contain many errors. Unlike professional newsletters, they will have many errors.

Spoofed Identities:

Cybercriminals use techniques to impersonate real firms. They copy official logos, websites, and email domains to seem real. One should always check the email domain before clicking on any link or giving any data. Their email domains are public domains rather than official ones. They alter and use fake sources.

Deceptive Links:

Phishing emails contain links that lead to fraudulent websites. While looking like the originals, these websites aim to steal your information. On clicking, the website might be half-built and not have a smooth operation.

Too Good to Be True:

They might offer huge money, doubling funds, or investing in shares. They would offer wonderful deals without any terms or conditions.

In case you believe the offer might be genuine. You should proceed with the original website rather than a random link.

Unknown Receiver:

Phishing emails begin with ‘Dear Customer’ or ‘Dear Client’. It might be a red flag as real firms personalize their mail for clients.

How to Save Yourself from Phishing

Verify the Sender:

Double-check the sender’s email address. Remember, genuine companies use official domains. You can email the real company through their original website. Confirming with the real firm about the information is good practice.

Avoid Clicking Suspicious Links:

Hover over links to check the URL before clicking. Be sceptical of shortened URLs or strange domains.

Protect your Privacy:

Real companies do not ask for sensitive information via email. If in doubt, contact the company using the official contact details. Never share your details via email.

Use Tools:

Install antivirus and anti-phishing software to prevent phishing attempts. Get help with antivirus.

What is Blagging?

The second name for blagging is social engineering. Unlike phishing, blagging catches its targets over the call.

Blagging is more challenging to detect than phishing. Cybercriminals make blagging more personal and believable than phishing. Scammer feigns to be an official person or an old friend to manipulate.

How Blagging Affects

Blagging, like phishing, can harm financial loss, identity theft or compromised security.

Signs of Blagging

Imitation:

Callers may claim to be friends, police officers, or IT support staff to deceive. Try to recognize the voice if they imitate a known person. When it’s an authority, you can cross-question and ask about their identity. Verify validity on web search; they are authentic if listed under the said company. If not, they might be hackers mimicking.

Urgent Situations:

Cyber criminals cause panicking situations, forcing us to take quick action. They create situations like security breaches and password changes. In case of imitating a friend, they might ask for immediate money help.

Tricky Language:

Blagging relies majorly on deceiving tricks. Hackers might be either extremely polite or stubborn with their words. They try to let your guard down or show power to intimidate you.

How to Save Yourself from Blagging

Keeping yourself safe from blagging can be challenging. Scammers give you less time to think and ask many questions. They might frequently ask about your well-being, making the conversation personal.

Verify the Caller:

Always verify the person’s identity on the other end. Ask for their name, business, and contact information. Call back using official contact details to confirm their identity.

Stay Calm and Sceptical:

Getting flustered in urgent situations is easy; try not to do that. Take time to think about the situation and if the request makes sense. Cybercriminals rely on creating panic to cloud judgment.

Avoid Sharing Information:

Avoid disclosing passwords, PINs, or personal details over the phone to them.

Educate Employees:

In a corporate firm, educate employees about the risks of blagging. Set up protocols for checking the identity of callers before giving confidential data.

Where to Report

If you run into any suspicious activity, you should report it. Fraudulent text, email, and phone calls can be reported to the National Cyber Security Agency. If you encounter a duplicate website, call, text or email. It’s good to inform the real company about the impersonation as well.

Click here to report phishing, blagging, fraudulent texts, calls, or emails.

Your reporting can notably impact online safety. Do not hesitate to report any fraudulent activity. It’s a step towards a safer online environment.

Conclusion

Knowing the difference between phishing and blagging is crucial in protecting our security. Phishing relies on emails and messages, while blagging misleads people over phone calls. Both methods aim to get sensitive data but carry out different tricks.

There are steps to protect ourselves against phishing assaults. Verify the sender, avoid clicking fishy links, and report unsure emails. Install antivirus and anti-phishing tools for added protection.

Verify the caller’s identity for blagging calls. Stay calm, and avoid sharing sensitive information. Report any suspicious calls to the relevant authorities.

Educate yourself and your colleagues about the risks of cyber crimes. Help keep the internet safe and secure for everyone. Cybercriminals and their methods are a threat that we must take seriously. The best defence we can have against them is knowledge and awareness.

Sam Ashford - Author

Hey, I'm Sam Ashford! I have 20 years of experience in the IT industry. I have worked as a security analyst, trainer, and writer at Synergy-UK for over ten years.