Outsmart the smartest of cyber criminals

With a high level of fraudulent emails and illicit messages circulating at present, some under the guise of NHS and Government Covid-19 notifications, businesses are currently at an increased risk of cybercrime.

Employees who are working from home at present are more exposed and potentially less protected than they might be whilst working from an office location with firewalls and additional security in place.

Vigilance is key

As individuals we all have a part to play in the fight against cybercrime. So what basic steps can you take to help spot a fraudulent email?

• Increase your levels of inquiry – asking if the message is genuine, does it look correct and is it from someone you have had a recent conversation with?
• Be less trusting – If you receive a message from an outside source that you do not recognise, take the stance of distrust.

Email is still one of the most used sources for delivering malware, ransomware and many other vindictive attacks. Your levels of trust should be left to people you know and who you are in communication with – everything else; consider the following…

1. If the source address isn’t recognised, do not trust it.
2. If the message looks genuine but appears out of the blue, this could be a fraudulent message pretending to come from the genuine source.
3. Never click on links or download attachments that you were not expecting. Very often the tactic is to deliver a link that you will convincingly click on and this starts the malware chain.
4. Use the three second rule. If within 3 seconds you don’t recognise the message, the source addressee and/or you were not expecting a message from this source, delete it. If it is genuinely important, they will find an alternate method of contacting you.

Don’t let your guard down