Joel Scharnhorst, an IT professional, spoke to Rotary Monday with tips on how to spot and avoid phishing attempts.
Scharnhorst said phishing is an attempt to take your credentials, typically to steal your money.
Scharnhorst said a major sign of phishing is urgency, telling you that you need to take action now. He said many times, scammers will claim to be from law enforcement or governmental agencies, such as the IRS.
Scharnhorst said when receiving emails or texts with links in them, always verify the sender.
He said it is easy to copy an email display name, so make sure to check the email address. Many times, scammers change a letter in the email address so it looks similar at a quick glance.
You can also hover over links to make sure they go where the link says. Scammers may use a fake link to hide to hide the actual web address. You can also avoid this by typing the address rather than clicking the link.