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With hacking attempts, DDoS attacks, and stolen data becoming more prevalent as of late, it’s more important than ever that you and your employees exercise the proper protection techniques. This starts with knowing what to look out for. Since we all use email regularly to communicate with others, it makes sense to start there when it comes to protection from hacking attempts. Here are just a few ways to help you spot email fraud – one of the more difficult types of fraud to spot.
What’s the Email Address?
Although many hacking attempts now come from well-disguised email addresses, sometimes you can tell a scam just by looking at the email. A lot of scammers use third party services such as Yahoo! and Gmail to send emails that look convincing. Most professional emails are going to have the name of the website as the domain (IE, @facebook.com). A lot of scammers have gotten good at “spoofing,” which makes the email look like one from the official domain. In this case, it’s easier to check for the other signs of fraud below.
What’s the Sender’s Website?
If you think an email may be a fake, you can look at the website associated with the person sending it. If there are any links in the email, simply hover over it to see the URL. If the email says it’s from Facebook but the URL doesn’t lead there, it’s likely a scam and should be deleted immediately. In addition, any website that reroutes you from the original URL is also likely a scam and should be avoided at all costs.
Can You Call Them?
Every legitimate company can and will have a number you can call to verify the email was actually sent by them. Encourage your employees to always call when they are in doubt. Even if the email appears to come from you, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t call you to verify if you made a mistake you don’t usually make or linked to a strange URL that asks for private information.
This information and diligence, paired with the understanding that legitimate companies will never ask for money or passwords over email, will save you company some hassle it doesn’t need to deal with. Remember to remind your employees of these rules every quarter, and you should succeed at ensuring in imparting important knowledge to your employees.
