October is Cyber Security Awareness month and with the holidays just around the corner, I would like to remind everyone about the upcoming phishing season. Since Covid, phishing scams have increased over 350% and continue to rise on a daily basis. Holiday phishing scams are more likely to catch you off-guard due to relaxed awareness. Common phishing scams include:
- Password Resets/Recoveries
- Fake invoices and delivery notices
- Holiday party survey’s and invites
- Gift card scams
- Fake charitable donations
- Fake package tracking notifications
- Malicious e-cards and images
Malicious actors rely on users to react emotionally to the email, and open it or click on the link before they think. Below are the emotions malicious actors rely on:
- Fear (jail time, account locked out/disabled, access removed, etc.)
- Urgency (Short deadline, immediate action required, etc.)
- Greed (Money, gift cards, free items)
- Helpfulness (Charity offers, disaster aid, friend stranded, in need)
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