How to avoid phishing?

First of all, use common sense.

Keep calm and do not fall victim to provocations that are acting as an agent for online scams and 'vishing'. Take a thorough look at the links and websites that they direct you to. If you receive a suspicious link from a friend or colleague, make sure that they are indeed the ones on the other side of the connection before clicking on the link. When facing a 'vishing' attack, remember that no bank employee would ever urgently require your credit card details.

Ideally, do not go to a website through links; input the address manually. It goes without saying that all websites should be accessed with robust protections and networks in place. Do not forget to regularly update your antivirus software, especially if it offers anti-phishing capabilities.

For instance, a built-in anti-phishing module in Kaspersky Internet Security can run website checks against a list of known scam websites, as well as detect potentially dangerous pages having evaluated them through a list of over 200 criteria.