What happens when you click a phishing link?

[Anonymous]

I clicked a phishing link on my android phone which i got from my E-Mail but i did not give any data such as passwort and leave the phishing site

Updates

+1 y

I Downloaded malwarebytes from playstore and it did not find any virus etc

[Soteris]

Its important to understand the terminology. Phishing links is not just a "catch all" term for all malicious links/websites but specifically when a website tries to appear legitimate and trick you into entering in personal information like passwords. In other words it is about information harvesting and it relies on you yourself giving up information by typing it in.

Furthermore, it probably includes a personalized link, meaning they sent you a unique link in your email so when you click on it they know exactly which email you came from and if nothing else they know you are using and reading your emails on that email so they can continue to send more spam and attacks, not to mention selling your email to others for money so they can spam and send attacks too.

Point is, this is probably one of the least worst links you can click on. If it was a phishing link that is, it could also be more. For example it could attempt to install malware on your PC. If this is the case then pretty much anything is possible.

There is also a third way they can profit from you. This is through sending you through a bunch of advertisement link which pays them for every new "visitor". This can easily be combined with other types of attacks where they first send you through 3-5 advertisement links that you won't even react to before you land on their malware or phishing site.

Point is, there is a lot of things that can happen although very few of them are ever as serious as the viruses you see in movies. They exist, they are super scary, but they are also equally rare. It makes more financial sense for criminals to go for quantity rather than quality where they can send out literally millions upon millions of spam rather than infect one location with a terrifying virus they spent months or years developing.

[Asker]

It happened few days ago. If my phone had spyware, virus i probably would notice something. My phone would be much slower etc but it is not.

[Soteris]

That is not a good assumption but unless you are good with computer security there is not much more you can do sadly.

[Asker]

What then?

[Asker]

I only downloaded some anti malware apps from playstore and it did not find anything

[Asker]

But i dont trust them

[Asker]

It was free version of antivirus apps

[Soteris]

Free versions are fine when it comes to anti-virus as long as its a reputable source. They do not compromise on the anti-virus part, the paid version just gets more support and extra features. The problem is that viruses are hard to detect, even with anti-virus software and even harder to "fix" once you find one. Someone who knows what they are doing could sit down for a few hours and manually go through everything and make sure but its not something we common people can do without that knowledge and experience. As such we are forced to just believe in the anti-virus software and try not to press any suspicious links.

[Asker]

How can i notice one then? I clicked a phishing link and leave the site immediately

[Asker]

It was on accident

[Asker]

What are the antovirus apps then?

[Soteris]

I am not so sure how it works on mobile, but on a PC the best way for someone like you to do it would be to run a scan with a certain anti virus program. Dont remember which one, was a long time since I had any use for it. Its not important anyways, point is that it compiles a document that is pages upon pages upon pages worth of information regarding your computer and the things inside of it that you can then upload onto a certain forum for people who wants to help can search through it and find if there is a problem or not.

Removing said problem is even more difficult. Maybe it is just removing the actual file but more often than not you need to go much further such as open your computer registry and rewrite a bunch of that too, which is both time consuming, difficult and has the chance of ruining your pc if you make a serious enough mistake.

Point is. Its better to either believe in your anti-virus or you should restore to factory settings and begin again as if your phone is new/empty as when you bought it. Remember to save whatever you want to keep beforehand though.

[Asker]

I qlso deleted my browser history and cookies

[Asker]

Why would they spent so much time spying someone with spyware anyway?

[Soteris]

Could be any number of reasons, humans are complicated. Money is an easy one but could also be curiosity, lust or just a desire for power over other people. Viruses also used to be for fun with them doing something funny to your computer and sometimes even removing themselves after.

[Asker]

How possible is that? I really dont care about loosing data. I only care about my privacy and that my data ain't spread on the internet

[Soteris]

I dont know, and that is pretty scary in and of itself.

[Asker]

Seriously it is weird spying a random person for some power. If the virus, spyware or whatever have Intelligence to know what is important data and what is not, then it may make sense to send the hacker the important data

[Soteris]

Its not too different from any other person looking for power in society. Why would you want to become the president of USA? Power and money mostly. Why would you like to become rich and famous? Power and money.. its a very common reoccurring theme in humanity.

[Asker]

Can a virus or spyware know what is an important data? Can it spy my password, bank acccounts? Why do you know so much?

[Soteris]

Most of that is fairly simple actually. Partially because everyone keeps these things in the same locations and partially because your computer handles these types of things differently such as recognizing when you are typing a password or not. I am sure you have gotten countless questions if your browser should remember your username and password anytime you log in as an example.

Why do I know so much? Because I have a passing interest in most things, that includes hacking and computer security.

[AviatorTom]

Bad things can happen. Ransomware can take over your phone/tablet/computer. Rogue software can be loaded that helps steal your identity. In worst case, all the programs and data on the device can be deleted. In most cases, though, phishing links take you to a bogus website that looks like the real thing and asks for personal information or money.

Best to follow this rule: Do Not click on any link that looks suspicious, or a link that you are not expecting. You can often hover over a link and see where it would really take you.

[Asker]

Why is ir bad when data or programs get deleted. What is the point of this? What does the hacker gain from this? How can i notice a rogue software? I deleted my cookies/Browser history after clicking phishing link since it was recommended

[Asker]

I deleted my Browser history ten minutes after clicking phishing link. This happened few days ago. Since everything seems ok on my android phone

[AviatorTom]

Some people just like to do nasty things, like deleting data. Most, however, try to get something from you, money or your identity. Clearing cookies and browser history is good. Better to have anti-virus software and security software on your device

[Asker]

Does the virus, malware, spyware etc get my identity immediately since i did not immediately clear my cookies etc.

[Asker]

I also download malwarebytes from playstore. Which antivirus apps did you recommend?

[Asker]

Can my deleted pics from my galary be restored due to a virus since deleted pics etc ain't really deleted and get stolen lol

[AviatorTom]

If your pics were saved to the cloud (many androids do that by default), then they would still be available in Google Photos. If they weren't saved to the cloud, they are most likely unrecoverable.

It's always best to backup pictures and files from your phone to your PC or to a memory stick, so they don't get lost if something bad happens.

[Asker]

I actually would not mind when pics are deleted and can't be restored. I am just scared that any malware have access to my deleted pics

[Asker]

Can you somehow notice whether you have virus?