Many of us are now approaching the six-month mark of working from home. In my case that is not going to change in the foreseeable future. That’s probably true for many of you as well. Early on there was the learning curve on how to best do this. By now my fellow virtual workers, we’re pretty comfortable at it. That’s a good thing, and not just for us but cybercriminals at well.
With our new level of comfort, we also may have become a little lax in guarding against scammers and cybercriminals. That’s a bad thing, but still good for those looking to take advantage of us.
As we toil in the digital workplace, we are among more than 300 million people who use Zoom or the Microsoft Teams app daily. That’s fertile ground for the cybercriminals and they are using Zoom for a worldwide phishing scam aimed at harvesting login credentials for Outlook and Office365.
With back to back video meetings, it’s not uncommon to miss one. I know. The Zoom phishing scam begins with an email that impersonates a notification from the video conferencing platform. The email informs the recipient that they have recently missed a scheduled meeting. It encourages the user to click the link for more details and access a recording of the meeting.
As with most scams, urgency and panic are key elements. It’s the same in this case. Missing a meeting may mean you’ve missed something important. Instructions in the email direct you to click on a link taking you to the recording.
To get that recording you must use your company email login credentials. Those credentials can then be captured and may be sold on the dark web, held for ransom, or used to compromise other accounts which may contain sensitive information. In short you could open your company up to a data breach.
So, let’s return to early days when we were being more cautious:
• Never click on links or download attachments without confirming the source.
• Verify the authenticity of links and pay close attention to URL addresses. Many bad actors will host landing pages on unrelated URLs.
• Avoid logging in from the links provided in emails. Instead, log in directly to the requested website.
• Always take time to think about a request for your personal information, and whether the request is appropriate.
• Pay close attention to the spelling of an email or web page. If there are any inconsistencies, users should be cautious.
• Ignore and delete emails with unexpectedly poor grammar and formatting.
• Question the validity of any email that asks you to submit personal or financial information.
• Use strong passwords to reduce the chance of devices being hacked.
• Consider the use of a password manager to maintain the security of multiple accounts.
If you are 65 and over listen up. We have new data that shows 80% of money lost in sweepstakes, lottery and prize schemes is from consumers over 65.
We have updated information first released in June 2018. Our new figures come from BBB Scam Tracker, the Federal Trade Commission and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).
The figures show adults age 65 and older remain overwhelmingly the largest group victimized by these scams. Of the 4,417 sweepstakes and lottery scams reported to BBB Scam Tracker since 2018, nearly half, or 1,980, came from victims over the age of 65. This age group lost $2.52 million of the $3.1 million in losses reported to Scam Tracker, representing more than 80% of the money lost to this fraud.
Combined FTC and IC3 complaints reflect losses of $112 million in 2017, $182.6 million in 2018, and $170.4 million in 2019.
Scammers have updated their sales pitches to potential victims to include COVID-19 twists. According to Scam Tracker reports, scammers are discussing supposed COVID-19 safety precautions for prize delivery and attributing delays in awarding prizes to the pandemic. Often, they will use the well known Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes as the hook.
To avoid becoming a victim of sweepstakes, lottery, or prize scams; first – you’ve got to play to win. How can you win something you haven’t entered? Second – if you’re asked to pay any upfront money to anyone for any reason – you’re being scammed.
Remember those two things and you will keep yourself out of trouble.
Dennis Horton is director of the Rockford Regional Office of the Better Business Bureau.
