Worried I Might Have Left Myself Open To Phishing

I am me

I received an email from Taxback.com claiming they could help me reclaim tax. I have heard about them over the years and thought they were legitimate so I clicked on the tab in the email to talk to them through a live chat.

When I was in the chat, the first thing they did was ask me my personal details, and I said no way was I giving those out online to a company I wasn't sure was legitimate.

I asked them for information on how they can get a refund and they were very wishywashy.

I am since reading some things I don't like the sound of.

My question is, could they be able to phish me via my IP address or the fact I clicked on the live chat via my email?

I DID NOT GIVE THEM ANY PERSONAL DETAILS WHATSOEVER, NOT EVEN FIRST NAME.

I did mention that I had always been a PAYE worker, but nothing else.

dudara

Moved to the Security forum

dudara

BuffyBot

Very unlikely. Every website you visit has your IP address. Every single one..so think about how many sites you've visited vs how many times you've ever been hacked.

Once you didn't download anything, and have good computer security in place (firewalls, up to date anti-virus etc) you should be fine.

I am me

BuffyBot wrote: »

Very unlikely. Every website you visit has your IP address. Every single one..so think about how many sites you've visited vs how many times you've ever been hacked.

Once you didn't download anything, and have good computer security in place (firewalls, up to date anti-virus etc) you should be fine.

Cool, thanks. They're probably 100% legitimate, I just didn't like the questions they asked. I have avast, and my system tells me I have a firewall on, so should be ok. I did open a chat window, and visit their website, but I assume the website and the chat window are just websites, not downloads.

BuffyBot

BuffyBot wrote: »

Very unlikely. Every website you visit has your IP address. Every single one..so think about how many sites you've visited vs how many times you've ever been hacked.

Once you didn't download anything, and have good computer security in place (firewalls, up to date anti-virus etc) you should be fine.

Be careful here, just because you have anti-virus doesn't mean you're secure to download anything.

Also your IP address gets changed on a regular basis with your provider (in most cases) The more concerning thing is they have your email address.

Best thing to do is:
A) Get Flagfox, this is a plug-in available for most browsers which will display the location of a site/server you are visiting and help you determine if you have been lead to a genuine site or not.
Ghostery also a plug-in can help block your identity online and stop sites tracking what you do/information about you.

The last thing I recommend is to keep a watch on from what I remember it's called Passport but it's at the top beside the URL bar, this will give you information about the site and if it's legit or not.... (Not every site has a 'passport' so don't be alarmed if say boards.ie doesn't have one. You could use all these together to give you a good idea if the site is legit or not.

I am me

Thanks, I ran malwarebytes straight after and it didn't show up anything. I think the site itself is probably legitimate, and that the company itself is legitimate. I haven't read anywhere online that it is otherwise. I just didn't like the questions they asked and probably (hopefully) just got a scare. I won't be dealing with them anyway so hopefully my instincts are right.

I'll have a look at and try out what you suggest though because it would be useful for the future.

Squeaky the Squirrel

8-ways to check if a link is safe