Think Before You Click - Don’t Simply Trust Emails

Phishing is a common issue that businesses of all kinds can experience, whether they are a small startup or a large corporation. Hackers are always trying to extol information from your employees, including account credentials, remote access to your systems, and in some cases, funds directly from a bank account. It’s up to you to teach them how to identify and respond to phishing attacks.

Here are some strategies you can teach them for how to address phishing attacks against your infrastructure.

Be Wary of Unsolicited Requests—Especially Suspicious Ones

Chances are you’ve seen the messages you get in your inbox about confirming special offers or doing certain tasks, like clicking on a link or downloading an email attachment. More often than not, these types of unsolicited emails are phishing attempts designed to get you to act in a specific way. If you think a message looks suspicious, then it probably is, and you should flag the message as such so your IT can handle it. You might look for unprofessional language, misspelled words, or other similar telltale signs when you are making your decision.

Be Especially Careful with Phishing Links

Although they are not necessarily anything new, phishing links are still quite dangerous because they take almost no time at all to put together. A phishing link can come in the form of an email, social media message, or even a text message. Hackers will use every trick they can think of to get you to click on the link, and if you’re not careful, you might actually do it. Links can look legitimate even if they are not; for example, a zero could easily be slotted in the place of a capital “o.”

Use Alternative Methods of Identity Confirmation

Let’s say you get a message that you are truly 50-50 on. It could be real, or it could be a scam. If there is even a shadow of a doubt as to the authenticity of the message, you should consider reaching out to the other party through an alternative means, just to confirm that the sender is who they claim to be. For example, if it’s GoDaddy support, contact GoDaddy support through the phone number on their actual website rather than the one in the email message. If it’s an internal message, like one from your supervisor or your IT department, reach out to them with the contact information you have on-hand to verify their identity. In all cases, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

You can help your business stay protected against phishing attacks by working with Washington Works. We can equip your organization with the tools to protect itself and the support your team needs to identify such messages. To learn more, call us at 301-571-5040.