Modern Phishing: A Hidden Threat in Plain Sight

Modern Phishing: A Hidden Threat in Plain Sight

While it may come as a surprise to some, phishing is still a lucrative business for cybercriminals. Phishing is defined as the fraudulent practice of sending emails pretending to be from reputable companies in order to reveal personal information.  In 2020 alone the FBI’s Internet Crime Report stated that phishing scams in the United States led to over 54 million dollars in damages. Here are a few of the modern phishing campaigns currently circulating: COVID-19 vaccine offers, requests to verify Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from the government, and requests to verify banking information for stimulus checks. Here are a few tips to minimize becoming a victim of phishing. Verify ALL aspects of an email if it contains an attachment. Enable multifactor authentication (MFA) on your accounts that offer this service. Most importantly, if something is being offered to you for free that you didn’t sign up for, its likely a scam.