Email phishing criminals came up with new ways to trick your employees last year. The worse news is that the old tricks are working, too. Why are employees less vigilant?
The pandemic and working from home added more stress and distractions. No easily accessible co-worker or manager to ask about a suspicious email. What email phishing attempts still work like a charm?
The official-looking email from the company CEO or other executive is top of the list. The criminals want log-in credentials, so they usually ask you to log in again to retrieve the message. Using a password manager for log-ins will block nefarious activity like this.
One of the most fruitful scams related to the one above is the gift card. Again, an official-looking email arrives from a company executive asking you to purchase gift cards. And it’s a surprise for everyone so don’t tell your co-workers or manager.
What are the new tricks? The popularity of signing legal documents online brings out criminals. There’s never a reason to download anything to read the papers with legitimate sites like Docu-Sign. Asking for a download is a sure sign of a scam using malware.
The new version of “there’s a problem with your account” works around multi-factor authentication by asking you to click a link to resolve the problem. Entering your credentials into the new browser window gives the criminal what they desire. When I get this type of email, I check my account directly and don’t use their link.
Author: Kris Keppeler, a writer who finds technology fascinating and loves humor. She writes for Crossing Genres on Medium.com and Does This Happen to You? on Channillo. Award-winning podcast producer who enjoys telling stories. Follow her @KrisKKAria on Twitter or on LinkedIn.
Small Business Solutions 