The Hurricane Is Not The Only Threat

Posted: 4 years, 7 months ago

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As hurricane Dorian continues to makes its way along the coastline, leaving a trail of devastation, it is important to remember, it is not the only threat that people are facing. Unfortunately, cybercrimminals use Dorian and other disasters as a way to exploit people for personal gain.

In times of disaster, many individuals step up and provide food, supplies or volunteer their time to help those in need. For many cybercrimminals, this is the perfect opportunity to find new victims. From social media scams to "phishing" attempts to gain private personal data, cybercrimminals play on people to gain what they are looking for.

It it important that you know who you are donating to before you make your donation. If you see social media posts looking to gain donations through personal mobile payment apps, or wire transfers and not through a verified charity or federal aid organization, be very suspicious. There is good chance that these are not actual aid organizations, and are individuals looking to take advantage of you.

In addition, it is important to remember that many phishing emails and phone calls will attempt to be calling on behalf of an official disaster aid organization. Remember, these organizations will never ask you for personal banking information, social security numbers, or registration numbers.

Here are some things to consider when examining any requests that you receive.

1. Look very carefully at the email and website address that the request is coming from. Cybercrimminals will often make them look as legitimate as possible. This may include things such as spelling variations, the inclusion of (-) between words or changing the domain extension to something else, such as .net instead of .gov. For example https://www.fema.net instead of https://www.fema.gov
2. Do not click on any links in emails or social media posts unless you know and have verified the sender or social media account.
3. Analyze the sender's email address to make sure that it is coming from a legitimate organization.
4. Make sure that the anti-virus and malware software on your computer is up-to-date.
5. Do not provide personal information or information about your organization.

Although these tips may not completely protect you, they can help to prevent you from falling victim to cyber attacks.

If you would like to learn more about how ACS can help protect your company from cyber attacks, or help you recover after one, please reach out to us or give us a call at 877-404-8224

 

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