Not
even the best scammer can
outsmart skepticism.
Trust
No one & Check
Everything
The
Lure: An
enticing, yet flawed,
email featuring any of
these traits:
Sender notes seeing
suspicious activity
on an account of
yours and asks if
you need assistance
There's a request
for payment to
restore account
settings or update
your credentials
A request to confirm
personal information
or provide personal
/ company financial
account details
Provides a link or
attachment with a
fake purchase order
or invoice
Offers a link to pay
a bill (when you
scroll over the
destination, it's
fraudulent and
doesn't match the
company's secure
portal)
Notifies you of a
refund or rebate you
can claim
Includes a “coupon”
link or attachment
The
Hook:
Malware or ransomware
lying in wait to snag
you. If it's phishy,
steer clear and don't
bite! Even when scammers
use “live bait” and it
looks legitimate, scan
to check for the hook
first. Here are a few
things to look for:
Egregious spelling
and/or grammatical
errors
Links specifically
stating to update
credentials or
payment information
Urgency to act
fast... or else
The
Defense:
There are several
proactive steps you can
take to mitigate your
desire to bite and help
protect your credentials
even in the event you do
release them.
Install security
software and set
your systems to
automatically
update, so you'll
have the latest
patches and
capabilities to deal
with the latest
threats before they
even reach your
inbox
Enable multifactor
authentication,
which requires an
additional security
barrier to hurdle
beyond your username
and password by
providing:
a passcode sent
to a secondary
device or
account
an additional
question to
answer
a biometric
identifier like
a fingerprint,
eye scan, or
facial
recognition
Back up your data to
external hard drives
and store
information on
secondary servers or
cloud providers in
case you need to
recover from a
ransomware attack
The
key is
NOT
acting. No one ever got
phished from not
clicking, not
downloading, or not
opening fraudulent links
or attachments!
