Epidemics and health scares (e.g., H1N1, COVID-19).Natural disasters (e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Indonesian tsunami).Attackers often take advantage of current events and certain times of the year, such as Phishing attacks may also appear to come from other types of organizations, such as charities. Vishing is the social engineering approach that leverages voice communication. This technique can be combined with other forms of social engineering that entice a victim to call a certain number and divulge sensitive information. Advanced vishing attacks can take place completely over voice communications by exploiting Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) solutions and broadcasting services. VoIP easily allows caller identity (ID) to be spoofed, which can take advantage of the public’s misplaced trust in the security of phone services, especially landline services. Landline communication cannot be intercepted without physical access to the line however, this trait is not beneficial when communicating directly with a malicious actor. Smishing is a form of social engineering that exploits SMS, or text, messages. Text messages can contain links to such things as webpages, email addresses or phone numbers that when clicked may automatically open a browser window or email message or dial a number. What are common indicators of phishing attempts? This integration of email, voice, text message, and web browser functionality increases the likelihood that users will fall victim to engineered malicious activity. The sender's address may imitate a legitimate business. Cybercriminals often use an email address that closely resembles one from a reputable company by altering or omitting a few characters. Both a generic greeting-such as “Dear Valued Customer” or “Sir/Ma’am”-and a lack of contact information in the signature block are strong indicators of a phishing email. A trusted organization will normally address you by name and provide their contact information. ![]() If you hover your cursor over any links in the body of the email, and the links do not match the text that appears when hovering over them, the link may be spoofed. Malicious websites may look identical to a legitimate site, but the URL may use a variation in spelling or a different domain (e.g. Additionally, cybercriminals may use a URL shortening service to hide the true destination of the link. Poor grammar and sentence structure, misspellings, and inconsistent formatting are other indicators of a possible phishing attempt. Reputable institutions have dedicated personnel that produce, verify, and proofread customer correspondence. ![]() An unsolicited email requesting a user download and open an attachment is a common delivery mechanism for malware. ![]() A cybercriminal may use a false sense of urgency or importance to help persuade a user to download or open an attachment without examining it first.
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