Over the years the Internet has provided a wide variety of cons, hoodwinks, flimflams and just down right skulduggery. Many a classic email rouse have been seen and they will only keep getting better as AI is utilised to attempt to catch people out and lead unsuspecting people down a murky path. The pleasures of an interconnected world brings so much opportunity for sharing but it can also be an open window into your life, reach into communication channels such as your mailbox, grab your attention and get those brain cells put to work.
These scams try to take advantage of our good nature, our needs our fears and potentially our naivety.
There has always been an opportunity for a grift, a chance that something might just work. Add the sheer numbers of people that now connect to the Internet, you can understand how it takes only a small percentage of unsuspecting people to follow some instructions to make the venture worthwhile.
Back in the early 2000’s there was an offer from a Nigerian Prince who needed your help getting money out of the country and he would pay you for your troubles.
Later we get the more fear driven style of the all seeing spy master who has been viewing your internet habits and has footage from your camera, ready to leak all unless you pay up some hush money in bitcoin.
Mimicking trusted people in an organisation has leveraged the trust factor, often a request from an owner to a person in finance asking for invoices to be paid immediately.
Many more scams have reached the level of public knowledge as the kind and frivolous Prince but why? Well, email is something that most people use every day and that gives those with an alternative agenda the ideal opportunity to play the numbers game in hope that they get lucky.
Tricks can be used in emails to make you think that you are being sent an email from a reputable source, that the link will take you to the right place or that your boss really has requested you pay an invoice to a supplier you have never heard of or one you do know…but the bank account details have suddenly changed.
So with all of the skulduggery going on how do we protect ourselves from being duped by the evil genius minds that are targeting out Inbox?
A good starting point is to have a filter in place, something that checks the validity of emails trying to get into your, potentially overflowing, Inbox. Using a dedicated service that exists simply to swat away the troublemakers will help. They do not always get it right 100% of the time and that is when education has to play a part in keeping us safe.
When an email does come into your inbox remember that just because it has potentially passed through a filter it does not mean that the email is safe. We have to be vigilant before taking action on our emails as once you takes them steps you generally can’t go back.
Here are a few review points on how to scrutinise EVERY email:
· Were you expecting this email?
· Do you know the sender?
· If you know the name of the sender, are they writing in a way you would expect?
· What is the action that the email wants you to perform and why?
· If the email contains a link to a website, hover over it with your mouse to see what the real address is. This is a tactic used to disguise the real website you will be sent to
· Don’t be afraid to verify the email content with the supposed sender. Call them on a number you already have for them or is available from the official company website, not the one in the email.
· If there is an attachment then consider the impact, it could contain a virus. Curiosity does not stop viruses.
· Ask someone for a review, if you have an IT service provider then ask their advice.
Overall, it is better to be safe than sorry.
For further information on data security and ways to keep yourself protected online check out our blog posts or contact our team for a chat
