Using Human Checks to Stop Phishing Attacks

We have all come to rely on technology for just about everything in our lives. It makes our lives so much easier. We don’t even have to talk to one another to complete important business operations!

Technology is so great! Well, it’s meant to be, but everything has its flaws.

The trick with using so much technology is that we don’t always know what is actually going on behind the scenes. 

Phishing Attacks in Action

We are all aware of the Nigerian prince scam. Of course, there is somebody behind that and there is no prince who wants to give away his fortune.

This is such a common practice that it is more of a joke than anything else. But these kinds of attacks have evolved.

We soon saw calls common from the “FBI” that said that you had a warrant for arrest, or that you owed taxes and would be arrested. You don’t know if these people are who they claim to be, and of course, this is another common scam.

Everyone thinks of these two examples when considering online scams, but social engineering has gone so much further. It isn’t always so obvious now how to tell who is who.

If you take a look at our true story of a CFO who almost sent money to scammers, then you can see how likely this is. All it takes is a switch of one letter in an email address or a fake online form to make people give away crucial information. 

This is why we advise introducing more human checks to back up cybersecurity and help stop phishing attacks in their tracks.

Very Real and Very Scary!

For instance, a common practice is that an attacker may get into your email, or the email of a vendor and create a very similar account. They may even update your address book so that the new email from the hacker replaces the original email of a trusted vendor.

This vendor may say that they have not received funds for something, and it could be because they changed banks. They provide new details and ask to resend the payment.

Nothing looks wrong from the tech side so you get ready to send the payment, not knowing that you are not talking to your actual vendor.

This is a common attack tactic that is very effective.

But there is an easy way to avoid this problem. All you have to do is call the vendor! If you give them a call just to confirm the new bank details or lack of payment, then they will be just as confused as you. They can confirm that they did not send the email and can help you know that this is an attack.

You would be shocked how many people never follow up with calls like these.  We all trust technology to such an extent that we would never think to worry about this.

But hackers know this is a weakness and they are more than happy to exploit it.

This is why adding more human touches can actually make you safer! Technology is great for giving you the tools to make life easier, but humans still need to be diligent about their interactions.

You never know when a trusted tool may be used against you.

A simple phone call can save your business! Learn how our managed services can help you operate safely, and effectively online today!