A whopping 80% to 90% of cyberattacks start with phishing. Why does this matter? Because even the best cybersecurity can’t stop all phishing from happening. While adding the proper security and safety can greatly reduce the unwanted emails that get through, it’s not infallible. That’s why it’s up to you and your company to understand how employees can protect themselves from phishing attacks.
At Premier IT, we have years of experience with phishing, cybersecurity, and more. Keep reading to learn what phishing looks like, how to avoid phishing scams, and how to respond (or not respond) appropriately to keep your network security updated and ensure your data stays safe.
Phishing is a cyberattack on a person or organization in an attempt to steal their data, money, or identity. Typically, phishing attempts can occur through:
If someone is messaging you out of the blue, it’s important to approach the situation cautiously. Generally, phishing will incorporate a few elements to watch out for. Here are the most common red flags that it could be a phishing attempt:
There are, unfortunately, a lot of methods for scammers to attempt phishing for your data, identity, or money. Some of the most common phishing methods include:
Email phishing is one of the oldest, most traditional methods of scamming people for information. Hackers will attempt to mimic emails from other companies and include malicious links, documents, or image files. Once clicked on, this malware can start stealing your information. Another practice is to use urgency and ask for your personal information.
Similar to email phishing, spear phishing is more of a targeted email that appears to come from someone you know or trust. They could be pretending to be someone within your organization or another close individual, so it appears to be internal company communication.
Voice phishing happens when a scammer calls you to attempt to steal your information or money. New tech makes it easy for callers to fake their caller IDs so they appear legitimate. However, if the call is extremely urgent and requires a sum of money for something you’ve never heard of before, you should report it to someone within your organization.
Just like with other scamming types, SMS phishing, AKA smishing, is used to send unsolicited messages to individuals to steal their information. These might look like free offers, deals, order status check-ins, or authentication requests that you didn’t ask for. If the contact isn’t already saved in your phone or you didn’t make a request for an authorization code, you don’t want to click the link.
While spear phishing focuses on specific groups or individuals within an organization, whaling attempts to aim big by targeting high-level people within the company. These emails come across as scarily accurate because the scammers behind them do a bunch of research before making an attempt. With fluent English and typical business lingo, it can be hard to differentiate the emails from the real deal.
While scammers can try to impersonate people within your company or others close to you, they can also pretend to be one of your clients or customers. They might create a fake account and attempt to remedy their issue, and they will send a malicious link in the process. The best way to discern these fake links is to check their profile history and see if it’s a verified account.
Clone phishing takes a real email and resends it with malicious links woven within it. They look legitimate, but the number one thing to look into is the sender. Oftentimes, the best way to tell these emails apart is who’s sending them. If there’s a spelling error in the email address, that’s a major red flag. Another quick way to check the links is to hover over them without clicking to see whether the URL matches up with the hyperlink.
While whaling targets a higher-up within a company, business email compromise (BEC) impersonates them. These messages are often in the form of an email or text message from your manager, boss, or someone else in the company with a high level of authority and are often sent to lower-level employees. Typically, if there’s a sense of urgency and no other recognizable people are on the email chain, you should communicate with others within your company to double-check.
One of the most typical methods of phishing online is using pop-ups. Whether it’s a notification box, advertisement, or urgent message that shows up on your screen, it’s important to be wary of the credibility of the site you’re on. If you don’t recognize the site, it’s best not to click the link.
HTTPS (hypertext transfer protocol secure) phishing uses URLs to hide their true intentions. Shortened URLs, hyperlinks, and misspellings in the URL are a huge red flag to look out for with these scams.
Have you wondered how to protect your company from phishing attacks? Phishing has been a problem since before the term first appeared in an internet newsgroup in 1996. Since then, internet criminals have grown increasingly more sophisticated.
These widespread requests for information might ask users to verify accounts or confirm billing information. Their purpose: to gain sensitive passwords, credit card numbers, or bank account details. Or they may come in the form of a domain that mimics a legitimate site. While misspellings, poor graphics, and an unfamiliar URL might give them away, it’s still easy to be fooled.
It’s critical to keep cybersecurity top of mind and provide consistent education for your team. Here are some of the best ways to protect your company from phishing attempts:
Explore Security Solutions for Phishing
It’s important for everyone in your organization to learn how employees can protect themselves from phishing attacks. With the information above, we hope you’ve gained some valuable insight on how to tell apart various types of scamming attempts so you can better protect your data and personal information. If you want further ways to prevent phishing attacks from happening in the first place, your network security is one of the best places to look.
If you have any questions or network security needs, contact Premier IT with questions about phishing or cybersecurity precautions your organization can take. We’re happy to share best practices to prevent network security issues.
Premier IT is a Minnesota based managed IT services provider with a dedicated IT support team that manages all your technology needs. We pay attention to the details so you can focus on what you do best. We provide technical consulting, hosted infrastructure, computer & network support, security, Microsoft support, repairs, network monitoring and more. If your small business needs reliable technical support, contact our team of experienced technicians and engineers.