In 2021 cyber attacks on businesses increased by over 50%. Of these attacks, 90% of data breaches happened due to email phishing attempts.
Email phishing is defined as the fraudulent practice of sending emails purporting to be from reputable companies to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Daily, hundreds of accounts are being attacked and information stolen through fake impersonations. The good news is you can protect yourself with common sense and education. Knowing the signs of a phishing attack can save you and your business lost time, resources, and financial pain. Here are some tips.
- Double-check the sender's email address or number. The display name can be a real person's name, like your boss or co-worker, but the real clue lies in the email address. EXAMPLE: Microsoft would not send an email as @captech.com but rather @microsoft.com
- Watch for spelling mistakes in the subject or body.
- Keep an eye out for rushing words like "Urgent", "ASAP," or "Right now."
- Anything involving requests for money, banking, or credit card information. (Double-check with someone via phone)
- Be careful with "password expired" or "Password reset request" phrases and links.
- Only open attachments that you are expecting and know are legit.
- Watch for suspicious URLs (links to websites) that try to make you reset a password, in reality; criminals are capturing your login credentials. HOW TO: Simply hover over the link to see where it will take you before clicking on it.
- Be at Team Player: If you find a phishing email came from a legitimate account (verified email address), you can be a team player and help everyone by calling and advising them of this problem, as they may not be aware yet.
The bottom line if something feels off, it might be worth a quick call to verify things are legit. Preventing phishing attempts requires us to practice defense.
Stay safe out there!
Reference: https://spanning.com/blog/cyberattacks-2021-phishing-ransomware-data-breach-statistics/
This article first appeared in the Modern Producer Magazine. To see the whole issue or request a physical copy, check out the link below.