Hackers are getting smarter by the day. They hack in to businesses using modern email scams that are becoming more and more convincing. Email scams are the leading cause of cyber attacks in America today. Businesses can lose money, customers, and credibility when their networks are compromised.
Human error is a natural part of life and it only takes one employee to click a bad link for hackers to gain access to your network.
Hackers employ multiple methods for this purpose with the majority of their targets being manufacturing businesses. This does not mean that hackers will not attack other businesses, in fact they will compromise any business that has a weak cyber-security system and unaware employees.
Let's take a look at some types of email scams that are commonly used to attack businesses and their employees today.
Phishing Emails
These are emails that usually try to scare you or lure you with incentives to gain your personal information. They will likely come from an email address that looks credible and scare you by saying you have been compromised in some way.
They then ask for your personal information to gain access to your emails or bank accounts. Sometimes these emails will tell you that you have won some money, exciting gifts or a vacation and you must give them your details before your claim expires.
Business Email Compromise (BEC)
This is a highly targeted scam and is one of the fastest growing techniques employed by hackers. They attempt to steal money through various departments of companies by pretending to be the CEO or VP of the company.
They will either hack into a senior employee’s account through phishing or other techniques and use it to demand company finances and other information from relevant employees. Other times they will pretend to be senior employees by using convincing but fake email accounts.
They do their research beforehand and often refer to employees by their first names to convince them that they are a commanding authority of the organization. They often stalk their targets and will request emergency funds for clients or themselves while the real person is away or on vacation.
SPAM Emails
SPAM emails are unwanted and unsolicited emails that are sent out in bulk. Mainly used for commercial purposes, they rarely reach your inboxes and are sent to the spam folder instead. However, sometimes they can reach your inbox as well.
Spammers or infected computers that are sending out these bulk emails sometimes do so to commit fraudulent activities that can affect your business. If these reach your employees and they click on their links, it can cause problems in your systems.
Conclusion
You may think that these are obvious scams, and no one would fall for them, but hackers have become extremely convincing and use many other techniques to fool the best of your employees into giving away information and funds.
Mistakes like these that damage your business are easily avoidable. Training your staff to spot these potential email scams is the best way to stay ahead and protect your business and sensitive data. This is where we can help.
With years of experience in cyber-security, we can teach your employees to spot the most common types of email scams before any damage is done. We can also offer general advice for staying safe online.
For more information, click here to get in touch with us today.
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