Read this to stay safe from the biggest phishing scam hitting NJ

A study was done by Fullstack Academy, a tech education site, about phishing scams. They interviewed thousands of Americans across the country and determined what the most common scam is in each state.

For those who don’t know, phishing is the fraudulent sending of emails, texts and other messages purporting to be from reputable companies or sources to trick people into giving personal information like passwords, social security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.

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What they found in their research was interesting stuff, to say the least.

Haven’t we all gotten most of these?

The three biggest phishing lures across the country were package delivery issue, claim your prize, and unusual account activity detected. There were also banking fraud alert scams and even the simple “Hi there” or some similarly vague personal sounding greeting via text.

The three states that fall for phishing scams the most are Georgia, Florida and Indiana. The least likely to fall victim are Alabama, South Carolina and Idaho.

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So, what’s New Jersey’s most common phishing scam?

“This is USPS (or fill in with Fed-Ex or UPS or whatever other delivery service) trying to contact you about a package delivery. We have been unable to deliver your package.” They then ask you to click on a link to start verifying information.

Yes, New Jersey’s most common scam is the same as 24 other states and by far the biggest on the list. The package delivery scam.

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Don’t fall for it

Don’t click on a link you aren’t 100% sure about. If you’re given any URL (web link) to click on, look up the real website and compare the URL. Are they exact? Is there a stray hyphen thrown in? Something different no matter how slight? An "O" instead of a zero? Anything?

Which reputable companies are most often faked in a scam? Amazon is the number one, followed by U.S. Postal Service and UPS.

What do most people do when they recognize a phishing scam has popped up on their screen? They will delete, block sender, and mark as spam.

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As was a password on the TV show “The X-Files"... trust no one.

Oh no, I’ve shared a password.

Ignore these calls, NJ! Area codes you should never pick up

While dodging scam calls can feel a bit like playing “Wack a mole” on the boardwalk, there are some area codes that are giant red flags, as collected by the Better Business Bureau and socialcatfish.com:

Gallery Credit: Erin Vogt