Can You Spot a Scam When You See One? – Learn How to Recognize Suspicious Texts and Emails!
As we are all getting used to the new normal, people continuing to work from home or staff returning to work, there continues to be a lot of change and unrest. Users are frustrated, concerned, overwhelmed, hurried and uncomfortable. As such, they may forget to follow due diligence recommendations. Additionally, our hackers just keep getting more creative and continue to hunt for opportunities.
Keeping your business and information safe is critically important to us. Whether these attacks are directed at the business or the home, your users are exposed. Therefore, we continue to identify new threats and help you stay in front of the latest business scams and hacking attempts.
As more employees return to work during these unprecedented times, remind network users to stay vigilant and look out for suspicious communications surrounding COVID-19. Be extra warry of anything offering financial assistance, free advice, or miracle cures. Recognizing phishing scams and knowing how to spot and avoid these scams can help protect you from fraud.
Email and text phishing may impersonate a company, charity, or government agency, such as the IRS. Often this includes urgent requests to convince you to sign on to a fake website or respond with personal/account information.
Phishing Scams Can Be Hard to Spot, but There Are Some Major Warning Signs:
- Suspicious Sender: Know the email address, phone number, or shortcode. Don’t respond to messages from senders you do not recognize. Five-digit shortcodes are used by companies to text and authenticate users. Add any trusted senders of shortcodes commonly used into your contact list to help you recognize the number.
- Odd or Unusual Language: Does it contain unusual test treatments, all caps or clear spelling and grammar mistakes in the message? Typically, these scams use caps and exclamation points, with a mix of lies, to phish network users, or they pretend to be part of leadership or a long-term client.
- Sudden Request: For network users receiving unexpected requests to unblock accounts, update information or verify identity, it’s critical to NOT click or respond. Company’s use identity verification, when prompted by an action you have already taken, these are usually alerting for new logins and password changes.
Learn more about how to spot scams or fraud and avoid the pitfalls. Contact Clare Computer Solutions to discuss your options and build a company culture vigilant about cybersecurity today.
