What is a “Phishing Scam”?
A phishing attack is a type of cyber threat where attackers disguise themselves as trustworthy entities (e.g. Element Investment Managers) to deceive you into providing sensitive data, such as login credentials or credit card numbers. This is often done through fraudulent emails or messages that mimic legitimate sources and contain links to fake websites that look real. The goal is to trick you into entering personal information which the attacker can then exploit for malicious purposes. It’s important to be cautious with unsolicited communications and to verify the authenticity of requests for personal information.
Ways to spot Phishing?
- Check the sender’s email address: Legitimate companies usually have domain emails. Element Investment Managers’ domain name is “@elementim.co.za” and, thus, any email coming from a domain other than that is not from Element Investment Managers.
- Look for generic greetings: Phishing emails often use generic greetings like “Dear Customer” instead of your name.
- Inspect links carefully: Hover over any links without clicking to see if the URL looks legitimate. Element’s domain name is “www.elementim.co.za” and, thus, any link pointing to any other domain than that is not Element Investment Managers.
- Watch for urgency or threats: Phishing attempts may claim that your account is in danger or that immediate action is required.
- Request for sensitive information: Element Investment Managers will not ask for sensitive information via email/WhatsApp/or any other social media websites. This is especially suspicious if this request is unprompted.
- Unusual attachments: Be cautious of unsolicited attachments, which could contain malware.
What to do?
Do not do the following:
- Open any attachments or files sent to you (they may contain malicious code),
- Give the suspected phisher any sensitive information,
- Give the suspected phispher any personal information,
- Agree to meet the suspected phisher anywhere, &
- Send any money or deposits or transaction fees to any account provided by them.
Do the following:
- Report the incident to Element Investment Managers (info@elementim.co.za),
- Report the incident to relevant authorities, &
- Block the suspected phisher’s accounts/number/WhatsApp.
Element Investment Managers will never:
- Transact business through social media channels (e.g. WhatsApp, Twitter),
- Make unsolicited contact of a person through social media channels requesting personal or sensitive information, &
- Require any sensitive client documents to be sent via email or any social media channels.