Phishing scams

 

Phishing Scams

Phishing scams are one of the most widespread types, as they have made their way to every corner of the world through the Internet and email servers.

What is a Phishing Scam? This is a type of scam that tries to get important information such as their email address, phone number, or social security number. The information is used for a variety of purposes, including organized crime, identity theft, and more.

Phishing scams: the full list below

The most common form is an email phishing scam, usually offering free money or something enticing along those lines, but you need some information to get it. The money never arrives, and your important information is stolen.

New ones appear all the time like Apple phishing scams, PayPal-related scams, and many more. Learn more about phishing scams below to keep you on your toes.

Work from home hazards

Two in five Brits put their personal data at risk when working from home.

By accessing sensitive data from their personal computers and phones, remote workers can welcome cyber attackers to their devices while their office is protected from the coronavirus.

This scenario applies to UK staff. Phishing scams are fast moving from home hazards to work.

Employees lack cybersecurity knowledge

A recent study by Fasthosts revealed that 2 in 5 people in the UK have no specific and adequate cyber security risk training. This means that while people are working from their homes and using several video chat apps and file transfer platforms, they don’t have as much information about what they do.

The data shows that half of the UK (54%) operate without a VPN, the essential web encryption that prevents personal and business data from being used on public WIFI, in the public realm such as those used in cafes, libraries, and shared residences.

Over the past months, Kaspersky’s analysis has validated this image for the entire world. In this era of mostly working from home, businesses need to ensure their teams are working as usual. Ensuring employee cyber protection is a concern.

Adequate time is required to provide the teams with all the necessary facilities to perform their work safely. New threats are exposed through teleworking, such as an increase in the number of spam and phishing attempts, access to WiFi hotspots, or the use of shadow information systems by staff. A survey of 6,000 employees worldwide found that employers cannot fully explain these risks to their workers. 73 percent of respondents reported that they did not undergo a cybersecurity awareness program after starting to work from home.

What is a Phishing Attack?

Phishing attacks are widely used to find out a person’s password, bank account, or credit card information. Specially planned by an intruder, a phishing email is perceived as originating from an official organization or genuine email. Internet users are led to fraudulent websites and given their credentials with the convenience of a customized email. On the other hand, running the files attached to these emails can block the victim’s devices.

Attackers create “bait” in a phishing attack, and this bait tries to lure victims to them. This is usually generated in cash incentives from salary increases, gifts, free holidays, and attractive situations. To avoid severe damage against this type of attack, which poses a significant risk to organizations, it is essential to educate and train the organization’s personnel.

Use a VPN for remote working hours

These days, VPNs are very common, but not for the reasons they were initially conceived. Essentially, it was a tool to securely interconnect business networks across the Internet or help you access a corporate network from home.

In reality, VPNs direct all network traffic to the network; Here are the advantages like remote access to local network services and removal of internet censorship. Many operating systems offer integrated VPN support.

In the most basic terms, a VPN connects your PC, smartphone, or tablet to some other device (called a server) on the Internet and helps you surf the web using that computer’s Internet connection. If the server is in a different country, you’ll look like a foreigner and do things you wouldn’t normally be able to do.

In the meantime, this virtual private network created for you ensures your connection is secure and encrypted. That’s why businesses should prefer to use a VPN when giving access to company files and email systems. For your personal use like personal email protection and e-commerce password protection, you can see an extensive review on ExpressVPN to get a better idea of ​​why you should use a VPN service.

With useful cybersecurity tips for companies and workers who work remotely and on their computers, it’s possible to protect against cyberattacks and become more aware of current threats on the web.

Working remotely can make it difficult for IT departments to track and take adequate cybersecurity risks because they can’t always control an employee’s every step, such as opening e-mail attachments.

Even companies that use normal firewall measures, access restrictions, and central antivirus programs are sometimes insufficient. Some emails may exceed junk box standards and pose a risk to users. That’s why everyone should take personal measures and behave responsibly when working remotely.