Phishing – How They Hook You and What You Can Do to Prevent It

Phishing is all about psychology, also known as social engineering. They exploit your sense of urgency, your desire to be responsible, or your relationships with the important people in your life.

Phishing usually takes place in your email by hackers using alluring links or attached files. Recently, these techniques are branching out to phones, text messages, WhatsApp chats, Facebook pop-ups and search engines. It is fairly easy for hackers to copy a site almost verbatim. Tests run at more than 1,000 companies saw that 26% of recipients clicked on emailed links, and 14% typed in their credentials.

So, what can YOU do to protect yourself and YOUR business?

It always pays to be cautious. 

1. If you receive an email that doesn’t feel right, call someone from the company or type the address into an open browser or open the app.

2. One of the simplest ways to tell if a website is authentic is to look at the URL. If there is the word “Secure” highlighted in green to the left of the URL, the site is legit and you can feel safe providing sensitive information.

3. Today’s browsers are able to block and squash a large majority of phishing scams if they are kept up-to-date. So, keep your software up-to-date.

4. And of course, if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us here, at Succurri (480) 795-2181.

Want to learn more about what a Managed Security Services Provider is? Listen to Succurri partner, Grant Eckstrom, and Fractional CMO, Tony Lael, discuss the topic in more depth in this video.

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