“Phishing scams are the most commonly reported type of cybercrime, and hackers frequently target business emails to increase profit potential,” said Justin Wray, director of operations, security at Core BTS. “Look for incorrect domain names in email addresses, suspicious attachments or incorrect links, branding that doesn’t match the company (different logos, etc.), misspelled words or grammatical errors and mismatched or suspicious links,” said Heather Paunet, SVP of Product at Untangle, a cybersecurity firm.Īvoid Opening Emails From Unrecognized Senders Look for tells like that and let them warn you that what you’re seeing is potentially illegitimate.” Schemes like this contain markers, sometimes subtle, that require prompt action or immediate attention. “I f the perpetrator can keep you moving and not give you time to think, they can usually succeed.
“There’s a reason a scam is colloquially known as a hustle,” said Jacob Ansari, chief information security officer of Schellman & Company, LLC, a global independent security and privacy compliance assessor. Read Next: Where to Splurge and Where to Save on Holiday Spending 13 Ways To Avoid Falling Prey To Cyber Crime Unfortunately, these risky moves often result in disappointment as scammers take the money and run.” This means turning to unknown online vendors or social media marketplaces as a desperate last resort. “This season is already known for the stress related to finding that must-have gift, however, the continued emotional stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic combined with the even more significant shortages is causing people to take bigger risks to get that perfect gift. “The pandemic has caused significant shortages in many items, especially electronics,” said Erich Kron, security awareness advocate at cybersecurity firm KnowBe4. The phishing emails and texts that cybercriminals send look just like legitimate communications, which is why so many people fall for them.”Ĭheck Out: What To Buy at Costco Every Day During Black Friday Weekend Bad Actors Are Taking Advantage Of Pandemic-Related Shortages It’s also important to note that today’s cyberattacks are very sophisticated.
Receiving a message that appeals to any emotion can, and often does, spark an action. Humans are naturally curious, and most people want to be helpful. “This scheme uses both urgency and an appeal to authority, which many employees would want to act on quickly. “An employee may receive an email that seems to be coming from a boss, asking the employee to purchase gift cards– but the boss needs it to happen right now,” Lurey said. “ A consumer may see an email that says, ‘Immediate action required – account will be frozen if xyz step isn’t taken.'”Īnother type of urgent communication potential victims may receive is one that appears to be coming from one’s boss. “Cybercriminals are very good at designing emails and text messages that prompt a sense of urgency and fear,” said Craig Lurey, CTO and co-founder at Keeper Security.
Learn More: 11 Gifts You Should Buy for Christmas Now - Before They Sell Out Fraudsters Know How To Play With Your EmotionsĬybercriminals are so successful in part because they’ve become experts at reading - and playing with - human emotion via text and email. The recent pandemic has not helped in this area, but rather made it another threat vector since it can relate to everyone worldwide.”įind Out: 6 Holidays Purchases That You Should Only Make at Costco “Every year the percentage increases because the attacks are becoming more sophisticated and the tools these threat actors are using are becoming more popular and highly available. “We will see an all-time high in cyber crimes this year,” said Chad Cragle, director of security and compliance at FormAssembly.