Most people think: “A fake e-mail? I would never fall for that.” Think again. Cybercriminals work extremely professional. Research shows that 30% of fake e-mails received by companies are opened. It’s mainly smaller companies that the criminal organizations like to focus on.
"One employee clicking on the wrong link can shut down the whole company"
Don’t think that these cybercriminals are just one-man operations working out of a small room in their attic. We are talking about organized crime with tens of thousands of "employees". They can be anywhere in the world. They are out to collect sensitive information from your company, to trick you, to take your company hostage or to steal your data. To a layperson, professional cybercrime emails can no longer be distinguished from real business emails.
How does it work?
Companies receive an e-mail that looks like it was sent by the bank, a government agency, or some other large, well-known company. It is logical for your employees to open an email like this to see what it’s about. The employee is then usually asked to click on a link or to open an attachment. At that point, a virus infects your computer, which may shut down all your software or may copy important data.
What should you pay attention to?
Perhaps the most important thing is the sender’s e-mail address. It is often a weird address, or it may contain a name very similar to the real name of an existing company. Suppose it says: Wesley | MCB BANK as the sender. That looks legitimate. But when you place the cursor on the name of the sender (or right-click), you’ll see the full name. And then it becomes apparent that this is not the bank’s actual email address.
There are lots more telltale signs you should look out for. The most important thing is that you as a business owner, talk to your employees about this. Make sure they are aware of the dangers. It only takes one employee clicking on the wrong link to cause a major problem. So, discuss the risks. This increases the resilience of your company against terrible viruses, scams and ransomware.
At ENNIA we deal with employee-related risks all the time, so we know how you can minimize risks in the workplace by taking simple preventative measures. We’d love to share our knowledge with you.
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