How can you spot a cyber scam?
Phishing scams are commonly used to spread ransomware and appear to come from a co-worker. These emails usually contain an attachment or a link that when opened or clicked results in an instant ransomware infection. To spot a phishing scam, you should look for:
- Missing sender information such as first or last name
- Misspelling within the email, especially within an email address
- Email addresses that do not match the company name
- Links that are misspelled or direct to a different URL than listed
Malicious websites are another common cyber scam. They are designed to look like legitimate websites, so you don’t even question giving them your personal information. Hackers achieve this by hacking into the legitimate site and inserting code that redirects users to the malicious website.
Pop-up ads are also very popular with cyber criminals to gain your personal information. They will often redirect you to a different website that asks you to enter personal information to pay a fine, etc. These attacks are hard to detect, but you can look out for misspelled URLs and URLs with unusual domain extensions. A great way to prevent pop-up ads is to use a malware detection software.
What cyber security solutions should businesses implement to help prevent cyber scams?
- Antivirus software is designed to detect, block and remove viruses and malware from your computer. It can protect you from ransomware, adware, spyware, Trojan horses and more.
- Firewalls are designed to monitor both incoming and outgoing network traffic. They separate your internal network from the Internet.
- Patch management is important as hackers target vulnerabilities in software. When you use outdated versions of software, you expose yourself to hackers, but automatic patch management can prevent these issues.
- Password management solutions are important to mitigate the risk of your credentials being stolen. There are many password management apps that allow you to keep track of your passwords and can also help you to change your passwords quickly in the event of a data breach.
- Encryption is also important because if a device is stolen, all of your data will be inaccessible if your hard drive is encrypted.
- Backing up your data on a regular basis is critical to minimize data loss. When you regularly backup your data, it allows you to restore your data to a previous point in time in the event of a breach.
Do you have all of these solutions in place to help prevent cyber scams? If not, we can help you get all of some of these implemented.
