The S.E.C.U.R.E. Method To Stop Phishing Attacks – Empowering Technology Solutions’ Guide

Why Phishing E-mails Are a Growing Threat to Your Business
Phishing attacks have become the most common cybercrime for a reason – they work. With over 3.4 billion spam e-mails reaching inboxes daily, cybercriminals continue to use phishing as their weapon of choice. It’s easy, scalable, and highly effective. Now, with AI tools like ChatGPT making phishing e-mails more sophisticated, it’s harder than ever to tell the difference between a scam and a legitimate message.

This is why businesses must stay vigilant. The damage from phishing attacks can be devastating, leading to costly financial loss, data breaches, and more. Below are some key dangers to be aware of:

4 Major Risks of Phishing Attacks

Data Breaches: Phishing scams can lead to the exposure of sensitive business information. Once hackers have this data, it’s often sold on the dark web or used for ransom. This can severely harm your business’s finances, legal standing, and reputation with clients.

Financial Theft: Through phishing, cybercriminals can trick businesses into making unauthorized payments or steal funds directly through fraudulent invoices. This can result in a direct hit to your bottom line.

Malware and Virus Infection: Clicking on phishing links or downloading attachments often results in malware or viruses that disrupt operations and compromise your entire network, leading to expensive remediation.

Compromised Employee Accounts: When phishing attacks are successful, attackers often use compromised accounts to launch even larger attacks, leading to data theft or breaches from within.

The S.E.C.U.R.E. Method to Identify Phishing E-mails

At Empowering Technology Solutions, we’ve created the S.E.C.U.R.E. Method to help you and your team spot phishing e-mails before they cause harm.

S – Start With The Subject Line: Is it strange or overly urgent (e.g., “FWD: FWD: FWD: review immediately”)?

E – Examine The E-mail Address: Do you recognize the sender? Is the e-mail address misspelled or suspicious?

C – Consider The Greeting: Is it generic or odd? (e.g., “Hello Ma’am!”)

U – Unpack The Message: Is the message overly urgent or promising something too good to be true?

R – Review For Errors: Look for grammatical mistakes or weird formatting.

E – Evaluate Links And Attachments: Always hover over links before clicking and avoid downloading attachments from unfamiliar senders.

Take Action to Prevent Phishing Scams

Phishing e-mails can strike at any time, and even a small mistake can cost your business greatly. That’s why having a dedicated cybersecurity team to filter and monitor spam, as well as train your staff, is critical to keeping your business safe.

At Empowering Technology Solutions, we specialize in cybersecurity services that go beyond basic protection. We can train your staff, implement advanced e-mail security systems, and perform a thorough assessment of your current defenses. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Call us at (702) 879-7111 or click the link below to discuss how we can help keep your business protected from phishing attacks and other cyber threats.

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