Blog / Keeping up with Current News… Helps to Spot the Phishing Scams!
Part of my morning routine when I get to work, is spend some time running through a bunch of different websites, looking for news about computer Security events and activities. A good portion of my time is spent looking at articles revolving around computers, various electronics, and how threats are changing. I’m sure this comes as no great surprise to anyone.
However, what may surprise you, is that I also spend a certain amount of time going through the current events that are happening. Not just locally, but in the world at large. The reason is simple; it’s for Security.
If you’re not certain how that could be possible, please allow me to explain:
Scammers & Phishers will use any means to exploit you and get what they want. The easiest way is to make use of big, important events that are happening in the world. This gives them that hint of legitimacy.
I wrote a blog about Phishing a while back, where I mentioned that bad actors (Scammers, Ransomware, etc.) were making use of COVID-19 to attain their goals. That’s still going on, because the Coronavirus is still an issue. World events have recently given them a new weapon, and they’re making “good” use of it.
There are many protests happening now. If you’re not aware of them, then for starters, you probably have been hiding under a rock. Considering the whole Coronavirus thing, that might not actually be a bad idea.
Now, regardless of any one’s opinion or view on the situation, the truth is that those same people that took advantage of COVID-19 to scam and phish people, are doing it all over again. They are utilizing the current situation with the riots and protests to do scams, involving ‘Black Lives Matter’ and other topics, in order to try and compromise your computer, steal login credentials, spread Ransomware, and generally enrich themselves at the expense of anyone else.
That’s why it’s important to try and stay updated on current events. If there’s something big going on, then you can guarantee that someone is going to try and take advantage of the situation.
It can be easy to get sucked into a flood of hatred and opinions, when it comes to stuff like this. Also, you can quickly spend hours looking into related articles without realizing it. So, it’s important to try and self-regulate, and keep yourself from spending too much time on it and forgetting about why you went looking for this in the first place. I know, because this happens to me sometimes, and I need to pull myself back, by going: “Right, it’s time to stop.”
Stay informed to stay safe!
If you have any questions about Phishing Scams, please reach out to your TRINUS Account Manager for some stress-free IT.
By Kind Courtesy of Your Friendly Neighbourhood Cyber-Man.
