Scammers Phish for Unsuspecting Customers

Phishing scams involve the use of email or text messages to trick people into sharing personal information or clicking on an attachment. During the pandemic, Golden West Internet Solutions (GWIS) has experienced an increase in reports about phishing messages. 

“These messages look so legitimate,” said GWIS Operations Manager Julie Marsland. 

Scammers Impersonate Someone or a Company 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) works to combat scams and educate consumers. According to the FTC, phishing emails and text messages appear to come from a company the recipient knows or trusts. They may appear to be from a financial institution, a social networking site or an online store. 

Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick the recipient into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. For example, the message may say that there has been suspicious activity on the account or personal information needs to be updated or confirmed. The scammer often makes the request seem urgent, hoping the recipient will act quickly without taking time to think things through. 

Avoid Links & Attachments 

Clicking on any link tells the scammer they’ve reached a live email address, and the next screen will often ask for some personal information. In many cases, it asks for a password. 

“It will ask for your current password, and it may ask you to put in a new password,” Marsland said. “Then they’ve got you, and your account is compromised.” 

Clicking on an attachment can result in the transfer of malware, ransomware, spyware or a virus. These can hijack the computer to steal confidential data or lock down the computer until a ransom is paid. 

Golden West Works to Protect Customers 

Through an advanced filtering system, GWIS aggressively works to prevent phishing emails and other scams from reaching customer email inboxes.  

“Our filtering system uses algorithms to look for new episodes of spam that they haven’t caught and filtered before,” Marsland said. “Unfortunately, until they see spam hitting a percentage of inboxes, they don’t always have enough details to write a rule to declare it spam.” 

Suspect a Phishing Attack? 

Customers who receive an email from a company or person they know asking them to click on a link or open an attachment should not do so. Instead, contact the company using a published phone number or website. Do not use the information in the email. 

For example, if the email appears to have come from Golden West, call 1-855-888-7777. While Golden West sends periodic informational email messages like this one, the company does not ask for any personal information via email. Golden West will also share scam details on social media to help protect other customers. 

Responded to a Phishing Email?