Scams are everywhere, and it’s up to you and your team to identify them before you accidentally expose your business to something truly sinister. However, it’s often easier said than done, and scammers have gotten craftier in recent years. Today, we want to discuss three of the dead giveaways that you’re looking at a phishing scam, as well as how to address it.
Unknown Senders
While unknown senders aren’t necessarily a throwaway sign of a phishing attack, they are cause for you to stop and consider the context surrounding the message.
In business, you might get inquiries from people who want to buy your products or services. We’re not talking about them; we’re talking about random strangers on the Internet who are trying to convince you to take action (more on that later). Oftentimes, these individuals might have an email name with an email address that simply doesn’t make sense. Think about it; you, as a person, wouldn’t choose a Gmail address that is a string of random characters. None of your colleagues, coworkers, clients, or vendors would either.
It’s always worth verifying the sender’s identity by checking their email address, as well as considering any alternative contact information, to make sure who you’re dealing with is who they claim to be. In a business world where phishing and whaling schemes are running rampant, it pays to be a little too careful.
Threatening or Urgent Language
Phishing messages want you to take action now, not later.
This is why you’ll frequently see urgent language in their messaging. They want you to pay an invoice, fill out a form, verify your identity, or any of the other countless excuses one can think of to get you to take action. Phishing scammers might even try to bully or threaten you into taking action, particularly if they are under the guise of law enforcement.
Simply put, don’t do what they want you to do unless you’ve had IT verify the status of the message.
Suspicious Links or Email Attachments
You receive an email asking you to click to verify your identity, or you receive an invoice for an Amazon order you don’t remember placing. What do you do?
Don’t go clicking on any old link you get in an email, and you should absolutely not download any attachment you receive. These are scammers’ favorite ways to spread threats, as they are braindead-easy for anyone to click on. When in doubt, you can hover your mouse over any suspicious-looking links to check where they actually go, and if they don’t go where they claim to, that’s a major red flag. As for attachments, you can have your IT department scan them to see if they are safe or not.
Fusion IT can help your business raise internal awareness of phishing and scamming practices so your employees will be less likely to fall for them in the future. Learn more by calling us today at (616) 828-5360.