What is Phishing?
Spotting and reporting fraudulent phishing emails
Phishing is the practice of pretending to be from a reputable company and sending fraudulent emails to get customers to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
They’re often created by a third party who’s altered the details to attempt to trick the recipient into believing that it’s from someone within the company. They then try to get you to click on a link or open an attachment that may contain viruses, or even request sensitive information.
Spotting a phishing email
Top tips on spotting a spoof email
- Generic greeting: Phishing emails don’t usually address you personally and instead say "Dear Customer" or something similar. If you don't see your name, be suspicious.
- Poor grammar and spelling: If lots of mistakes appear in an email from a supposedly trusted company treat this as suspicious.
- Sense of urgency: Internet criminals want to get their hands on your personal information as soon as they can and so they want you to act fast. For example: if you don't respond in 24 hours your account will be closed.
- Plain text/absence of logos: If the email is plain text and looks different from what you would expect it to look like from that sender, it’s best to treat it as suspicious.
- Requests for personal/confidential information: If you receive an email requesting personal information such as usernames, passwords or bank details - treat it as a phishing email.
- Financial requests: Nobody in LV= will ever send you an email asking you to send money directly or pay a bill immediately using bank details or money transfers - we have a set of standard processes for this.
- Forged link: Even if a link includes a name you recognise, it doesn't mean it links to a legitimate site. Roll your mouse over the link to see if it matches what appears in the email and if there’s a discrepancy, don't click on the link. See what domains and email addresses we use at LV=.
- High risk attachments: File types include: .exe, .scr, .zip, .com, .bat.
Protecting yourself from phishing
How to protect yourself if you do receive a phishing email
- Do not click on the links within the e-mail, or visit any websites within it.
- Do not email any sensitive or personal information.
- Never disclose your password and change it often.
- Report it. If you suspect an email you’ve received from us is phishing, email: [email protected]
If you don't have an LV= policy:
If you don't have an LV= policy, you can report your concerns to [email protected]. If you think you may have been a victim of fraud or cyber crime, you should report this to Action Fraud at https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ or by calling 0300 123 2040.
If your concern relates to an SMS message you have received you should forward this to 7726.
Don't just ignore it. Even if it turns out you haven't been a victim of fraud we're here to help.
Do you suspect fraud?