Name: Spotting a Phishing Scam: Discord Edition!
Brand: ridiculouslyben.com
SKU: ridiculouslyben-com-3
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Spotting a Phishing Scam: Discord Edition!

preview

Note: Please note I am not a professional security analyst. I am sharing what
  I've learned from my experiences. This post is not limited to Discord chat
  only. It can be applied for emails, other chat platforms, social media, phone
  calls, and more! It's just aimed more toward the Discord platform in
  general.&nbsp;
  You've just landed in a new Discord server or you just had someone land in
  your own personal Discord! The moment is exciting as you're ready to explore
  or be explored. All of a sudden, someone provides a link aiming toward an
  offer for a free game key/code, free Nitro (monthly membership), or a gift
  card. Sounds super exciting but before you click that link, keep
  reading!&nbsp;
  So what's going on in this kind of situation? The most probable would be a
  scam! In some situations you may get a genuine generous person trying to share
  their blessings but, in most cases, you are going to get people or bots that
  are attempting to scam you. The type of scam that would make most fall victim
  to these offers is called Phishing.&nbsp;
Not to be confused with fishing and simply put, phishing is a collection of just enough of your information to
  steal your identity or in most cases, to attain more personal information like
  credit card numbers, passwords, or even social security numbers. They do this
  by sending a link that seems like a legitimate or reputable website. This can
  be anything! Some websites could be but not excluded to game stores,
  department stores, or even big leagues like Target, Walmart, or Amazon.
These points can really be used on any platform, phone, email, and more in
  order to catch a scammer, scam, or bot in their tracks!&nbsp;
  1. Signs of a bot: The first thing to determine may be a little difficult. Is
  this a real person or a bot (program) trying to collect information?
  Oftentimes you will encounter a bot. Clear signs will be the member in your
  discord posting in a wrong text channel. Another clear indication is that they
  will spam or post the link as much as they can in one but usually more
  channels. Additionally, You may find the same member doing the same action in
  different discord servers. Another way to determine if the member is a bot is
  to directly message them (DM) or try talking to them. If they don't respond,
  then they're likely not a real person. To spot an actual person, skip to
  #4.&nbsp;
  2. Member details: Look into the person providing the potentially malicious
  link. How long have they been on Discord? How long have they been on the
  server where they're providing the links? Are they trustworthy? Is it someone
  you personally know? Positive answers to these questions may lead to this
  person's Discord account being compromised or, with some digging, could mean
  that the link may in fact be non-malicious.&nbsp;
  3.The offer: Oftentimes, the offer is too good to be true. Really, that's
  enough said but, here are a few examples: a free month of something (Nitro),
  $100 gift, free $60 game key, etc.&nbsp;
  4. The link: The link provided will be sneaky and look very legitimate. Here's
  a few ways to spot such a link as being a big giveaway to a phishing/scam
  site.&nbsp;
5. Bonus (professionalism): You've reached out to the person providing the
  possibly malicious offer and they've responded. Now you are convinced they are
  not a bot (program) just spamming channels. A real promoter or employee of
  said associated company will have a level of professionalism. For scammers,
  hackers, or phishers, professionalism often goes out the door. They will try
  to pressure you into visiting their site, offer to collect information to
  complete the offer for you, get mad at you, or in some cases begin to tell you
  off and offend you.&nbsp;
  For starters, whatever you do, DO NOT click on that link. Not only will they
  attempt to retrieve your information, you can leave yourself open to harmful
  malware or viruses. If you are a member of the server, there isn't much you
  can do other than leave the link alone and inform a moderator or the owner of
  the server. You can personally block the person but it won't protect the rest
  of the people in that server.&nbsp;
PC/browser instructions: Go into the server
  🠞 looking to the right side where all members are 🠞 right click the suspicious
  user 🠞 click on block (3rd selection from the bottom).&nbsp;
  Cell phone/portable device Instructions: Enter the server 🠞 swipe left 🠞 then
  swipe left again to get to the member list 🠞 tap the suspicious user 🠞 tap the
  3 dots on the top right of the profile 🠞 tap block&nbsp;
  Block someone in a Direct Message (DM): Click on the top left which is usually
  all your direct messages 🠞 right click the suspicious user that messaged you 🠞
  click on block (2nd selection from the bottom).&nbsp;
  If you are the server owner or a moderator (mod) then you want to ban this
  person from your server. If they reach out to you through a direct message
  (DM) then it would probably be best to block them as well.&nbsp;
  Here's how to ban someone from your server: Go into the server 🠞 looking to
  the right side where all members are 🠞 right click the suspicious user 🠞 click
  on ban (3rd selection from the bottom).&nbsp;
This entire post is not just limited to Discord and can be applied to any chat
  program, e-mail, text message, phone call, or even games! If it sounds too
  good to be true, it often is best to know what to look for as mentioned! Safe
  interneting everyone!

Note: Please note I am not a professional security analyst. I am sharing what
  I've learned from my experiences. This post is not limited to Discord chat
  only. It can be applied for emails, other chat platforms, social media, phone
  calls, and more! It's just aimed more toward the Discord platform in
  general.&nbsp;
  You've just landed in a new Discord server or you just had someone land in
  your own personal Discord! The moment is exciting as you're ready to explore
  or be explored. All of a sudden, someone provides a link aiming toward an
  offer for a free game key/code, free...

Spotting a Phishing Scam: Discord Edition!

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS