SPAM messages are more prevalent at Christmas
High volume SPAM is a seasonal business. Over many years spammers have refined their knowledge of the best times of the year to ensure the highest possible response rate to their messages. It turns out that the period between Black Friday and the last day for Christmas shipping is one of the best times to reach an intended audience with malicious messages. It is a time of the year when we all do a lot of online shopping and are expecting confirmation emails from retailers we purchased goods from and tracking messages telling us where our packages are.
What’s the problem with SPAM?
We are all rushed during this time of the year, which often means that our guards are down. Combine that with receiving a message appearing to be from your favourite store proclaiming that there is an issue with your recent order, and we are exactly what the attacker is looking for as the weak link. The end result might be spyware installed on our computer or ransomware locking all our data. So how do we protect ourselves? Where do we start?
How to protect against the threat
It’s always wise for email users to follow best practices when dealing with email. For example:
- Do not open any attachments that are suspicious, even if they seem to be from someone you trust.
- Keep endpoint antivirus, patches, and other software up-to-date.
- Do not reveal any sensitive information in email, whether it is personal or owned by your organization.
- Pay attention to the URL in the body of an email, and the sender’s email address rather than just the display name.
- If you aren’t sure of whether an email is legitimate, verify by contacting the company or person directly on the phone, or through legitimate communications you have previously received from that company.
Need any further help/advise?
Do you have a SPAM filter in place for your emails? If you’re not sure, give us a ring on 0114 287 0510, and we can find out for you and let you know what we can provide to help you.
You might also be interested in training your staff to understand the threats and how to avoid them.
If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch on the above number. We’ll be only too pleased to help.
Have a happy, cyber-safe Christmas!