Beware of Hurricane Harvey/Irma Phishing Scams
Chris Stewart - Senior Account Manager
NetX Information Systems advises being cautious of any emails with subject lines, hyperlinks or attachments related to Hurricane Harvey/IRMA relief efforts. Cybercriminal activity tends to increase significantly following a natural disaster of this magnitude. For example, fraudulent emails that mimic reputable charitable organizations requesting donations, often contain malicious links or attachments that direct users to malware-infected websites.
NetX Information Systems would like to recommend that users and administrators take the following precautions to ensure they stay cyber safe:
- Have updated antivirus software installed on computers.
- Administrators should block encrypted email attachments and block all malicious attachments.
- Do not click on links in email messages. Hover over the links to ensure that they are not pointing to a malicious web address.
- Verify the legitimacy of an email by contacting the organization directly using a trusted contact number found on their official website.
Identify and Protect Your Firm from Malicious Emails
Between October 2013 and February 2016, there have been more than 17,000 reported victims of malicious emails, costing US businesses more than $2.3 billion. In fact, in April of this year, the FBI issued a formal warning regarding Business E-mail Compromise (BEC), reminding organizations to be wary of email only wire transfer requests and to always validate the legitimacy of email financial transaction requests through phone or face to face conversation.
The three most common ways employees fall victim to business email scams is through:
- Malicious attachments
- Email body content
- Unauthorized senders
It is critical that all corporate team members understand the risks of malicious emails, learn how to identify them and embrace best practices to mitigate BEC threats.
To request more information about our cyber security products and service offerings, including our Security Awareness & Social Engineering Training, please connect with a security specialist.
