The 6 Most Common Types of Phishing Scams

While the recent pandemic has introduced many ways for the community to come together, unfortunately not everyone has jumped up to the same effect. In fact, with the massive surge in remote workers, cyber criminals have found numerous opportunities to hack company databases and infiltrate their systems. With over 80% of cyberattacks consisting of phishing attacks, it’s important to become aware of all the different types of attacks so you can better protect your business from them.

1. DECEPTIVE PHISHING

Deceptive phishing is the most common type of scam. This type of attack involves impersonating a legitimate business’s website to steal its data. Many times cybercriminals utilize email to send an alarming message to scare the receiver into performing an intentional task, such as clicking onto a link or downloading an attachment with virus filled code. These messages often contain mimicked logos and addresses to make the email appear to be as real as possible. If you or an employee follow through with clicking onto a link or attachment from one of these types of scams, you can threaten the safety of your company’s data.

2. WHALING

Whether your business is full-time remote or in-office, security should remain top of mind. The whaling phishing attack occurs when a top executive at a company has his or her identity compromised. The phisher then orders employees to send funds to a separate account. This scam is a little less common but extremely dangerous if executed properly. Whaling can result in hackers receiving sensitive credentials so that they can obtain access to critical accounts. Email can help these cybercriminals obtain employee information, which they can then use to better impersonate the account they have hacked and create a dramatic scenario to convince an employee to click on a malicious link.

3. PHISHING KITS

Spear phishing scams are very common and concentrate on more personal attacks to convince the user that the message is coming from someone who knows them. These messages might contain a combination of the user’s name, workplace, phone number, etc. to make it convenient that the hacker and receiver know each other in their personal life. Phishers use a combination of social media and out of office emails to give them as much insight on their targets as possible. Once the cybercriminal memorizes the format of how a company’s employees sends emails, they have the information they need to properly mimic their verbiage. Once the hacker gains trust, they will send an alarming message to get the victim to fulfill their request.

4. Spear Phishing

5. Pharming

Pharming programs are complex schemes that have the ability to automatically redirect a user’s web browser search to a malicious site. No matter what URL the worker typed, these scammers are able to redirect it to a URL of their choice. Oftentimes, the phisher will direct a user’s search to a landing page filled with code that enables them to steal that user’s personal information. Hackers can single out users through email, but they can also perform this attack by going directly after the business’s DNS server.

6. Login Interception

It’s clear that the pandemic has only sped up the amount of attacks from hackers. The last scam we would like to present is known as login interception, which is both a common and effective attack. This cyber scheme consists of a hacker who pretends to be the login page for a major online service. This tactic gives the hacker all sorts of credentials to major company accounts so that they receive access to sensitive financial information.

Not only do phishing attacks hurt a company financially, but it can affect the trust of your customers. Now that you are aware of the many ways hackers can steal your personal data – and how serious each of them are, it’s time to learn how to protect it. From scheduled disaster recovery to endpoint security systems, Nutmeg Technologies offer it all to protect your business’s information from these dangerous scams. Visit https://nutmegtech.com/phishing-tips-checklist-to-be-aware-of-for-your-business for a free checklist that your business can follow to stay safe from phishing attempts.