As Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes to a close, we’ve gained tremendous insight into how to stay safe online. The enduring lesson is that scams continue to evolve and the more they change, the more they stay the same.
Looking out for suspicious links or emails keeps you safe from those specific scams, but does nothing to protect you from new ones. What is more important is understanding cybercriminals don’t only prey on technical weaknesses; they also rely on human error. To increase your chances of stopping threat actors, you much recognize these tactics from their playbook:
- Pressure for Immediate Action: Any message urging you to click a link or call a number immediately to avoid serious consequences (like financial loss or legal trouble) should trigger immediate suspicion. Legitimate organizations rarely issue sudden, irreversible deadlines through unexpected digital contact.
- Impersonation of Trusted Entities:Scammers often pose as legitimate groups such as your IT department, bank, or vendor. They use official-looking emails, spoofed caller IDs, and convincing branding to appear authentic. This tactic is designed to lower your guard and make you likely to follow their instructions, like clicking on a malicious link or sharing sensitive information.
- Pretexting: Scammers create a believable scenario or “pretext” such as pretending to be from HR, IT support, or a vendor to gain your trust and extract sensitive information. For example, they may claim there’s an urgent payroll issue or an important software update, prompting you to share credentials or click a malicious link. This tactic relies on detailed research about the target and often uses information gathered from social media or previous breaches to make the story convincing.
To defeat these tactics, every individual must become a conscious firewall, focusing on three key practices: Avoid impulsive action, Verify the source, and Report the encounter.
- Avoid Impulsive Action: Pause and evaluate before responding to any suspicious message or request. Trust your instinct. If something feels off, take time to investigate. Do not rush to share personal information, send money, or click on links. When in doubt, consult with your IT or security team before taking any action.
- Verify the Source: Never reply directly to the sender of a suspicious message. Instead, if you receive a call, email, or text from someone claiming to be a trusted entity, use a contact method that you know will reach them. For example, if an internal IT request seems strange, reach out to your IT department on a separate, verified channel, like a company-wide chat. Authenticating the identity through a channel you trust is the single most effective way to defeat an impersonator.
- Report the Encounter: Promptly report suspected phishing or suspicious activity to your organization’s support desk or security team. Include details such as the date, time, description of the incident, and any evidence (screenshots, logs). Reporting helps protect both you and your organization by ensuring threats are analyzed and addressed systematically.
Scammers constantly adapt their tactics to fool people who are watching for specific red flags instead of recognizing the broader patterns behind the scam. It is far more effective to focus on the nature of the interaction rather than individual clues. If you learn to spot those common patterns – urgency, requests for sensitive information, offers that seem too good to be true – you can identify and stop scams before they succeed, no matter how they evolve. For more ways to avoid becoming a victim, or other questions, please email [email protected]
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