According to data collected by Microsoft, phishing emails accounted for 0.62 percent of all inbox receipts in September 2019 and are becoming harder to identify.

That's up from 0.31 percent just one year prior to that.

The increase is alarming of course, but at first glance, these look like fairly harmless numbers.

The Internal Revenue Service recently issued a warning that all taxpayers should be aware of.

The agency has received a growing number of reports concerning unsolicited email messages bearing the subject lines:

Electronic Tax Return Reminder
Automatic Income Tax Reminder

These messages are not from the IRS, but rather, from spammers trying to steal your information.

McAfee researchers have discovered a new version of the 16Shop phishing kit in use by hackers around the world. According to the latest research, there are now more than 200 URLs currently being used by hackers to collect login information from Amazon customers.

Hackers are always on the lookout for new ways to freshen up time-tested techniques. Where time-tested techniques are concerned, few are older than the humble phishing email.

In one form or another, it seeks to trick an unsuspecting user to innocently hand over sensitive information, like usernames and passwords that the hacker can then use later for any purpose.

Microsoft recently updated their support page and offered additional guidance to network admins as it relates to Office 365's built-in spam filters.  The gist of the update is that they strongly advise against turning the auto-filters off.

They provided some additional guidelines if you decide to bypass them for one reason or another.

There's a new scam making the rounds, and it's a particularly nasty one involving your social security number.  Here's how it works:

You may get a robocall seemingly from the government, claiming that there's a problem with your Social Security number.

Fear is a fantastic way to spread malware, which is why hackers around the world are using the fear of a flu pandemic as a hook to install a nasty strain of ransomware.

Researchers at MyOnlineSecurity have detected a cunning email campaign which spoofs the Centers for Disease Control and bears headlines warning of a Flu Pandemic.

If you do business with either American Express (AMEX) or Netflix, be on the alert.  Windows Defender Security Intel has recently reported the detection of two major new phishing-style campaigns aimed at the customers of both businesses.

Recipients have been receiving emails that appear identical to official Netflix and American Express communications.