Phishing

Phishing is a type of social engineering attack used by cybercriminals to steal your personal information, including login codes and credit card numbers. Phishing can be conducted via a text message, social media, or by phone, but the term 'phishing' is mainly used to describe attacks that arrive by email.

It happens when an attacker pretends to be from a trusted company who wants to trick you into opening a message on your device and then clicking on a link to a fraudulent website to steal your information and cash.

• Check the grammar and spelling. This can be a big giveaway of a scam email.
  
• Emails which require you to respond quickly or offer enticing discounts.
• Emails and texts that link you to web pages that ask for too much information, such as your full card or online banking codes.
• Web pages with misspelt or strange addresses.

If you’ve been phished, there are some signs that can help you spot if you’ve been tricked:

• Identity theft.
• Unprompted password reset requests.
• You cannot make calls or send texts using your mobile phone - a sign of SIM swap fraud.
• You suddenly receive an influx of spam email (or spam emails sent from your account).
• Cannot login to online banking or websites

• Check if the email is personalised. Does it have information like your name, your postcode or part of your account number? If there’s no personalisation, treat it with suspicion.
• Instead of clicking on a link - go directly to the website to login or call the company to determine if the email or text is genuine.
  
• If someone does fall victim to a phishing scam, encourage them to speak out. The quicker it’s identified, the sooner you can act.
  
• For the latest cyber security advice and resources, visit the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
  
• Forward any suspicious emails referring to Royal Bank to phishing@rbs.co.uk. Most large companies will have their own mailbox for reporting phishing emails.