The previous 12 months have been a roller coaster of history-making events that we’ve all watched and experienced with disbelief. While we’ve been preoccupied with the details of a worldwide epidemic we never expected to see in our lifetimes, an economic downturn, a tumultuous U.S. election, and a slew of widespread natural disasters, cyber criminals have been keeping a close eye on us and taking advantage of our inattention.
For most of us, it’s unthinkable to consider using tragedy for personal advantage, but the brutal reality is that digital foes just don’t care. In this article, we’ll look at the top five most startling phishing assaults in 2022 so far, as well as how individuals and businesses can not only recognise these dangers, but also secure their networks from them.
Scam of the Pandemic relief payout
The IRS teamed up with a number of states and industry groups in November to warn Americans of a text-based phishing scam promising a $1,200 economic impact payout from the ‘Pandemic TREAS FUND.’ According to the document, “To receive this money into your account, you must take additional steps. Accept this payment by continuing here…” The user was then directed to a fake website that appeared to be the IRS.gov Receive My Refund site, in which they were asked to provide personal and banking information.
Imitating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Phishers have also been seen sending emails pretending to be from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Malicious links, ostensibly directing readers to infection prevention measures and Pandemic vaccine information, are frequently included in the mails. The links, on the other hand, are infected with malware that might infect the user’s device, perhaps leading to ransomware or gaining access to the user’s workplace network.
The small business loan is a fabrication
Cybercriminals are well aware that businesses, particularly small and local ones, have struggled to keep their doors open throughout the pandemic and have frequently relied on government loans to help them get by. Some particularly nefarious hackers pretended to be federal employees and contacted business owners, requesting personal information under the premise of qualifying for CARES Act small business relief loans.
Schemes for Extending tax deadlines
The IRS witnessed more than $135 million in fraudulent tax refund claims before Pandemic became a widespread concern in 2022, which is astounding when compared to the $15 million seen in 2019 during the same two-month time-frame. Due to the extension of the Tax Day deadline to July 15, phishers took advantage of the extra time to send phishing emails, messages, and phone calls in order to increase their paycheck and steal tax returns from hardworking Americans.
In 2022, most of us will most likely encounter at least one of these scam efforts, but their impact will be determined by our understanding of phishing hazards, including how to recognize and avoid them. A staggering number of people fall victim to these attacks on a regular basis, compromising not only their data but also their employees’ networks.
According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report for 2022, social engineering tactics, such as phishing, are responsible for over a quarter of all data breaches, with 96 percent occurring through email. Credentials, personal information, medical information, and bank information are frequently targeted and compromised.
So, as a person, how can you protect yourself from these attacks? And as a business, how to protect from such attacks?
Ignore any unsolicited emails, messages, or phone calls requesting an immediate answer.
Examine the email addresses and domains of the senders.
Check for typos and grammatical problems.
Before clicking on a link you should do a mouse hover over and see where it is taking you.
If attachments aren’t expected, don’t open them.
Use extra caution while dealing with unknown senders.
If you have any doubts, contact the organisation that the email appears to be from, and/or contact your security team.
If you do not have In-House Penetration Testing Services then you should on-board Top Cyber Security Companies to get their Cyber Security Services.
Cyber Security Companies are well aware about such attacks and how to protect the business and individual users from such attacks. Regular Cyber Security Awareness trainings get planned to secure the business and employees from such top phishing scams attacks.
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Conclusion
In this blog post, we’ve briefly explained 4 Most Common Phishing Scams in Cyber Security in 2022. We hope you enjoyed it! Stay safe from cyber-attacks!
Detox Technologies is an ISO 27001-2013 certified Global Consultation and Implementation company, Headquartered in derbyshire UK & R&D Center in Delhi. We believe in precision and quality above everything else.