TIPS TO DEAL WITH PHISHING ATTACK
The word "Burisma" is all over the news right now - it's a Ukrainian energy company that, according to some claims, was raided by Russian hackers looking for confidential data to steal.
As you can imagine, the way the
hackers got in is supposed to be through phishing attacks.
The good news is that most of us
have learned to spot obvious phishing attacks these days.
The bad news is that you can't
reliably detect phishing attacks just by keeping an eye out for obvious
mistakes or by relying on criminals to say "Dear customer" instead of
using your name.
You need to beware of targeted
phishing, often called spear-phishing, where criminals make a genuine effort to
tailor each phishing email, for example, customizing it for both you and your
business. The spear-phishing, where fake emails are really credible, is not
just a problem for high - profile victims as Burismas of the world. Acquiring
the specific data needed to generate personalized phishing emails is easier
than you might think, and much of the data collection can be automated.
So here are our 5 tips for
dealing with phishing attacks, especially if you are faced with a criminal who
is willing to put in the time and effort to earn your trust rather than just
hitting you with those "Dear Customer" emails:
1. Do not hesitate just because a correspondent seems to know
a lot about you
Someone who has never met you,
and who never will, can nevertheless easily project himself as a
"connoisseur": a friend of a friend, perhaps, or a colleague with
whom you have worked electronically but have never met face to face expensive.
. With a combination of information gathered from data breaches that are
already public, social media profiles, and historical emails you sent or
received, even a criminal with modest funds and without much technical
experience can sound much more convincing than "Dear customer."
2. Do not press to send data just because the other person
tells you that it is urgent
Many email scams work because the
criminal gains your trust or makes you think they are someone who is high on
your own company's org chart, and then emphasizes how urgent the task you have
just been given is. Often times, they will also resort to flattery by
explaining why they are asking you and not anyone else, and they will make it
clear to you that the task is confidential and therefore you should not discuss
it with anyone else. Never treat as prudent that the other person is demanding
total secrecy, treat him as a suspect.
3. Do not trust the details provided by the sender when you
consult them
You'd think scammers would go to
great lengths to dissuade you from controlling them, but sometimes they will
not only appreciate it, but will actively urge you to call or message them, or
visit their website, as part of the scam.
If you call them back at the
phone number they gave you, or send them a message through the website they
provided, you are simply offering them an opportunity to tell you the same lies
that they want you to hear.
(This is why financial
institutions print your emergency contact numbers on the back of your bank card
and post them on their ATM welcome screens - those fonts are much more difficult
for criminals to manipulate.)
4. Do not follow the instructions on how to view an email that
appears within the email itself
A common ruse is for criminals to
hide malicious content, such as data stealing software called macros, within
innocent-looking document files, and then insert the "document" with
instructions on how to view it "correctly" by changing various
security settings.
Usually the instructions sound plausible enough, but criminals are tricking you into disabling security features that would keep you safe.
5. Don't be afraid of getting a second opinion
If you've ever asked your
colleagues to correct your documents or emails, they will often have found
errors that you can't believe you missed.
That's because a second opinion
is very helpful.
In fact, that is the main reason
criminals urge you not to tell anyone what you are doing, to prevent you from
getting a second opinion and thereby discovering them.
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