What do we mean when we say someone’s been hacked? The term can feel a bit vague and all-encompassing, to the point where it’s hard to know exactly what you should be on the lookout for to prevent something like that from happening to you. But what isn’t vague are the real-world consequences of a cyber attack: 82 percent of cyber attacks occur against small businesses. For business owners and supervisors at any level of an organization, the stress of having to prepare what is a continually evolving threat can take away from the ability for you to focus on the other aspects of running a business. Not only that, but the frequency and severity of these kinds of cyber attacks can also create stress within all members of your business, leading to a widespread sense of fear that can harm morale and hamper productivity.
At Payday HCM, we understand these fears and realize that the uncertainty surrounding cyber attacks only serves to make them more stressful. We are constantly receiving questions from our clients about how they can better protect themselves from online threats. It’s a really great question that a lot of businesses have, but finding the answers to this question can prove challenging. At the core of many of these questions is the concept of phishing and phishing scams. Many of the cyber attacks we see today are built on phishing scams, so a good understanding of how to protect your business begins with a good understanding of what phishing is.
So, in this article, we’ll be going over just that: what is a phishing scam? We’ll start by unpacking some of the history behind phishing and phishing scams before going more in-depth about what phishing is. After that, we’ll cover some tips for spotting a phishing scam and what steps you can take to better protect yourself and your business. By the end of this article, you’ll have the knowledge base you need to get your business started on its cybersecurity journey.
In this article, you will learn:
- What Is Phishing?
- How Do I Spot A Phishing Scam?
- How Small Businesses Can Guard Against Phishing Scams
What Is Phishing?
Before we get into how you can protect yourself from phishing scams and the ways to spot one, we first need to understand what they are.
The History Of Phishing Scams
The concept of phishing dates back to the mid-1990s when hackers used tools like AOHell to steal credentials on America Online, or AOL. The term itself, a play on the word “fishing,” reflects the tactic of casting a wide net to catch victims. By the early 2000s, phishing attacks had become more sophisticated and widespread, targeting e-commerce and banking users.
The rise of spear-phishing and business email compromise introduced more targeted and damaging variants. According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, phishing surged significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with bad actors utilizing fear and uncertainty to increase click-through rates and data theft.
How Does Phishing Work?
But what actually is phishing? Well, phishing is a form of cybercrime where attackers pose as trustworthy individuals to trick people into disclosing sensitive information, such as passwords, credit card numbers, or bank account details, or to download malicious software. These messages often appear to come from reputable sources like banks, government agencies, or even coworkers.
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack, meaning there isn’t any actual “hacking” involved—phishing scams are entirely dependent on the person clicking on a bad link and voluntarily entering or providing their information. Emails, texts, voice calls, and fake websites are all commonly used in phishing attempts.
How Do I Spot A Phishing Scam?
Now that we understand what phishing is and a bit about its history, we can dive into some ways that you can spot a phishing scam.
Things To Look For In A Phishing Scam
Recognizing phishing attempts is the first line of defense. According to the Federal Trade Commission and CISA, these red flags are the most common:
- Suspicious sender addresses: Always verify the domain name by hovering over the sender’s email. Look for an email address that is within your organization.
- Generic language: Greetings like “Dear Customer” or “Dear Employee” instead of using your actual name.
- Urgent or threatening tone: Messages pressuring you to act quickly (“immediate action required”) should raise red flags.
- Spelling and grammar errors: A hallmark of many phishing emails.
- Unexpected links or attachments: Always be wary, especially if you weren’t expecting the email.
If you receive any email, text, or phone call that requires you to click any links, verify any information, or otherwise take any immediate action, it’s best to verify with any relevant party that you can. At the very least, ask another coworker if they were asked to do the same.
How To Verify If Something Is Phishing Or Not
As stated before, phishing scams don’t actually involve any sort of software invasion or takeover. This means spotting a phishing attempt before entering any information is the best form of defense. So, before clicking a link or opening an attachment, take these steps to validate the source:
- Manually visit websites by typing URLs directly instead of clicking on links.
- Contact the company or person directly using known contact information, not what’s provided in the message.
- Use reporting tools—both Microsoft and Google email platforms allow you to report phishing emails, which is also encouraged by CISA.
If you suspect phishing, you should inform your IT administrator immediately. The sooner your IT department can communicate with the entire organization about recent phishing attempts and inform people to avoid it, the better. You can also report phishing attempts to agencies like the FTC or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
How Small Businesses Can Guard Against Phishing Scams
There are a number of steps that small businesses can take to ensure that they are protected from phishing scams.
Training And Education
The biggest safeguard that businesses have against phishing is consistent training and the education of their organization. So long as every member of your organization is able to spot, identify, and avoid phishing emails, your business will be better protected. Both the CISA and FTC provide tools to help you get started with phishing training.
One of the most common forms of phishing training is to send out fake phishing emails with the intent of testing whether employees are able to spot them or not. These, accompanied by regular security training, can help to keep your business protected.
Technical Safeguards
While phishing doesn’t involve any sort of software manipulation or infiltration, utilizing different technical safeguards can ensure your business is protected from head to toe. Safeguards your business can employ include:
- Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Prevents unauthorized access even if credentials are stolen.
- Spam and phishing filters: Tools like DMARC, SPF, and DKIM verify sender legitimacy.
- Endpoint protection software: Antivirus, firewall, and web filtering tools limit exposure.
- DNS filtering and browser protections: Prevents users from visiting malicious domains.
All of these strategies, whether you opt to pick and choose a few of them or implement all of them, can help to keep your business’s cyber presence secure.
Don’t Take The Bait—Protect Your Business From Phishing Scams
Understanding what cybersecurity is and what it means for your business often feels easier said than done. And yet, as new iterations of cyber attacks continue to develop, cybersecurity continues to become more and more of an essential part of running a business. The thought of losing all of your data in a ransomware attack or having sensitive client information leaked in a data breach is not only terrifying but also incredibly stressful. Finding information on how you can protect your business from these kinds of online threats can also feel overwhelming. Luckily, with the information provided here in this article, you’ll have the resources and knowledge you need to get your business started on its cybersecurity journey.
The strength of a business’s cybersecurity is largely determined by how knowledgeable the people who work there are. After all, most phishing attacks are aimed at getting employees to click on suspicious links or open suspicious emails. Ultimately, training is at the heart of cybersecurity—learn more about some of the benefits of using a learning management system for employee training and how you can level up your organization’s cybersecurity training process.
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