As a small business owner, you must constantly pay attention to cybersecurity threats. And with the coronavirus in the mix, there are more cybersecurity attacks than ever before. In fact, Google sees about 240 million spam messages related to coronavirus by day. And phishing attacks have increased to 667% since February (and continue to grow). To prevent cybersecurity attacks and keep your business safe, be on your guard and know what signs of caution to look for.
With coronavirus still booming, many commercial owners have a lot to worry about. And thieves feed on this worry and concern.
Of course, criminals use our fears as opposed to us. But if you know what kind of tactics to look for, you can protect your business from those annoying cybercriminals. To be a victim of hackers, keep your eyes open to those 4 cybersecurity threats.
Coronavirus or not, phishing emails are one of the biggest scams. And over time, scammers become more and more artistic with their phishing techniques.
With many other people focusing on the coronavirus and lately fleeing home, hackers pose as loan specialists, fitness officials and national authorities. For example, cybercriminals pose as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to trick you into clicking on unsafe links and attachments.
I hope you are already on high alert by phishing emails. If you haven’t, it’s time to start, folks. So, you might be wondering, Mike, how do you know if an email is phishing? What are the signs? I’m glad you asked. An email can be a phishing attempt if it includes the following:
Even if the email doesn’t look like phishing, it deserves to fly over the links with the mouse and inspect them before clicking to make sure they’re directed to a valid website. If you’re not sure about an email, ask a member of your security team (if any) to check it out for you. After all, preventing is more important than curing …
Fake internet sites are another non-unusual scam in the coronavirus era. Fake internet sites began to appear from left to right when the coronavirus pandemic began. And they probably wouldn’t leave soon.
Cybercriminals like to create links to those fake Internet sites in their phishing attempts (e.g. links in emails). The challenge is that they also like to make fake Internet sites look like valid Internet sites. Scammers can do this through domain names similar to those of valid Internet sites (e.g. http://www.example.com instead of https://www.example.gov). Or they can upload corporate logos to fake websites to make them more realistic.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure that the information you are visiting is valid. Before you start clicking, check the link (I can’t tighten this too much)! Again, fly over the link before clicking. Does the link look long? Is there a lot of text, characters or random numbers? Do your studies and compare the link content with a valid link in the Array
In addition to verifying your links, also take a few other precautions to verify that the online page is secure:
Another thing you should pay attention to in relation to the coronavirus hoaxes of scammers are fake ads. You can see a fake ad when searching for data online. Or you may encounter one in an unsafe place.
Cybercriminals use fake ads to trick others into offering data such as coronavirus loans, stimulus controls, etc.
As with phishing emails, ads can have a sense of urgency for them. For example, a fake ad on a small business loan would possibly say something like , “Act now before the budget runs out.”
The back line is: don’t click ads from unknown websites and Internet pages. And, I beg you, my fellow business owners … do not provide any non-public or professional data online if it is not a reliable or secure website.
True or false: Phishing can come from a phone call or SMS. If you guessed the truth, then come and claim your prize.
As the generation evolves, scammers are finding new tactics to hack into other people’s devices. Sometimes phishing can be done in the form of TEXT messages or phone calls (automatic calls). And with another five billion people sending and receiving SMS, cybercriminals have many goals to attack.
If you receive a text or voice message from an unknown sender or caller, do not reply or click any links.
For text messages, the general rule is to use the same precautions you would use with coronavirus-like phishing emails. Click on any link (especially if it is a random phone number), pay attention to spelling/grammatical errors and provide non-public information.
When it comes to phone calls, be careful. Do not give any non-public data over the phone, especially your Social Security number or bank account details. If you think a call is suspicious, accept it as true with your instincts and hang up.
At some point (especially in this age of coronavirus), a con man will look for an attack. Fortunately, there are many tactics to prevent those cybersecurity attacks and protect your business from hackers.
To your coronavirus-related cyberattack business, you can:
The more prepared and knowledgeable your business is, the better. You can’t prevent cybercriminals from suing you, but you can take steps to resolve security vulnerabilities.
I am the founder and CEO of Patriot Software, LLC. We, U.S. corporations and their accountants, with payroll software and cloud-based accounting. I know this little guy.
I am the founder and CEO of Patriot Software, LLC. We, U.S. corporations and their accountants, with payroll software and cloud-based accounting. I know what homeowners and small business traders are up against because I face it myself. For more information, visit patriotsoftware.com or follow: @PatriotSoftware on Twitter.