Don't Click that link or open that file
A small business must have a policy in place for cybersecurity in the office and, more specifically, for dealing with bad emails. Employees need to get educated on email safety, HIPAA laws, and continuous software updates?
1 out of 99 emails is a fishing attack meaning 30% of phishing emails will make it past default security, and the numbers will continue to grow.
Poor grammar and spelling errors to a blank salutation or knowingly not having signed-up for a new account all indicate a cyber trick is in-process. All of these indicators point to a phishing scam and should raise a red flag IMMEDIATELY! The next choice could be the difference in saving personal information or handing it over to the wrong person.
Key Points to combat bad emails:
- Always be alert: when in doubt, make a simple call to the company or person who sent the email to double-check with them in making sure it is not a bad email.
- Bad grammar and spelling errors: pay attention to discrepancies within emails.
- Browser security: insurance for the computer; do not surf the internet without it! They protect networked data and computer systems from privacy breaches and malware.
- Protect Smartphones: with the uprise in smartphone usage over the past decade, smartphones are in just as much risk, if not more, than computers to be attacked by a cyber thieve.
- Turn off the computer: when the business comes to a close at the end of the day, turn off the computer to break any connection that could be obtained by a cybercriminal.
Remember: always use common sense before clicking on anything. Never enter passwords into a request from an email. If there is doubt regarding the legitimacy of the email, make a simple phone call to the recipient who sent the email. Phishing attacks are far too frequent in the USA; do not have the mentality that nothing disastrous will happen because of being part of a small business - they have a 43% target rate.
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