February 27, 2017 03:28 PM
(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) observed that 2016 ended as the worst year for phishing in history.
According to the APWG’s new Phishing Activity Trends Report, the total number of phishing attacks in 2016 was 1,220,523. This number represents the highest ever recorded, and fully a 65 percent increase over 2015.
March 12, 2019 3:48 pm
(ThreatPost.com) Phishing attempts more than doubled in 2018, as bad actors sought to trick victims into handing over their credentials. They used both old tricks – such as scams tied to current events – as well as other stealthy, fresher tactics.
Researchers with Kaspersky Lab said in a Tuesday report that during the course of 2018, they detected phishing redirection attempts 482.5 million times – up from the 246.2 million attempts detected in 2017. In total, 18.32 percent of users were attacked, researchers said.
What can you do to protect your business from Phishing Attacks?
Here are 5 Red Flags Of Phishing Emails:
Think Before You Click
A single click can be the difference between maintaining data security and suffering massive financial losses. From the moment just one employee takes the bait in a phishing email, your business is vulnerable to data breaches and extensive downtime.
Quickly spot the red flags and put phishing emails where they belong:
- Poor spelling and grammar
While occasional typos happen to even the best of us, an email filled with errors is a clear warning sign. Most companies push their campaigns through multiple review stages where errors are blitzed and language is refined. Unlikely errors throughout the entire message indicate that the same level of care was not taken, and therefore the message is likely fraudulent.
- An offer too good to be true
Free items or a lottery win sure sound great, but when the offer comes out of nowhere and with no catch? There’s definitely cause for concern. Take care not to get carried away and click without investigating deeper.
- Random sender who knows too much
Phishing has advanced in recent years to include ‘spear phishing’, which is an email or offer designed especially for your business. Culprits take details from your public channels, such as a recent function or award, and then use it against you. The only clues? The sender is unknown – they weren’t at the event or involved in any way. Take a moment to see if their story checks out.
- The URL or email address is not quite right
One of the most effective techniques used in phishing emails is to use domains which sound almost right. For example, [microsoft.info.com] or [pay-pal.com]
Hover over the link with your mouse and review where it will take you. If it doesn’t look right, or is completely different from the link text, send that email to the trash bin.
- It asks for personal, financial or business details
Alarm bells should ring when a message contains a request for personal, business or financial information. If you believe there may be a genuine issue, you can initiate a check using established, trusted channels, like calling the sender to confirm their request.
While education is the best way to ensure phishing emails are unsuccessful, a robust spam filter and solid anti-virus system provide peace of mind that your business has the best protection available, but store-bought software is really neutered residential quality at best. Do you really want to trust your business to a residential quality software?
Give us a call today at 636-542-8653 to ask us what the difference is between business quality and residential quality software, and how we can secure your system against costly phishing attacks.
If you have already been attacked call 636-542-8701 for assistance in getting your systems cleaned up and secured properly for the future.
