What is Phishing?

Phishing is the attempt to obtain personal information online and is one of the most common forms of internet fraud. If you have an email account, you’ve probably been on the receiving end of a phishing email at one stage or another. These emails are usually very believable and if you do give personal information to phishers, they can use it for financial gain or identity theft.

Phishing Phone Calls

Phishing phone calls tend to impersonate company personnel or employees. The calls will often come from an Irish phone number in an attempt to look more genuine. The calling number is often spoofed, meaning it is not the actual number from which the call is originating.

Some customers have reported receiving fraudulent calls from individuals claiming to be a representative of Digiweb calling in relation to an issue/compromise of their broadband service. The caller may state that in order to fix the issue they need access to your PC/Laptop/device. The caller may put pressure on you to provide credit card details in order to repair or upgrade the security of the device. If your have received a phone call such as this and are concerned about your security, contact your bank immediately for information on what do next.

Digiweb will never require access to your computer or your credit/debit card details in relation to a fault/repair.

Phishing emails

These are fraudulent emails that appear to come from a legitimate source such as a subscription service, your bank, or a utility company. Phishing emails generally contain links to spoof websites that appear to have the same look and feel as the source they claim to be. Phishers can then attempt to trick you into divulging sensitive information using a variety of methods including informing you of a supposed refund or an issue with your billing. You are then requested to:

• Reveal bank account or credit card numbers, account numbers, usernames or passwords.
• Install malicious software on your computer known as Malware which can extract personal data from your computer or device.

Digiweb are aware of a series of unsolicited emails in circulation that claim to come from our services teams. We care about your safety and continuously work to raise awareness so that you can avoid becoming a victim of identity fraud.You may have received an email stating there was an issue with a payment on your most recent bill, asking you to click a link to pay the balance. This link sends you to an unauthorised third party site that closely resembles the Digiweb website but has various different URL addresses at the top of the web page. Alternatively, you may have received an email that claims that a bill is ready, that an account needs to be verified, you are due a refund or that a payment needs to be confirmed.

Other forms of Phishing

Phishing Texts

This is phishing sent via text messages. Like emails, they appear to come from legitimate numbers in an attempt to prompt you to supply personal information. Digiweb will NEVER ask for personal or financial information over text.