Think Before You Click

Gian Gentile, Operations Manager,
SecurityRI.com

As technology evolves, so do the cyber criminals and sophisticated scams. One wrong click can expose your personal or business information. Once you become a victim it becomes difficult to reverse, unless you follow the simple steps I'm about to provide.

First off, educate yourself. Understand the different types of viruses and scams. When someone understands a subject, it becomes much more difficult to fool them. I'm not saying to spend hours studying each avenue of Cyber Security, although make yourself familiar with the basics.

Here is a list of some popular cyber threats and how you can avoid / prevent:

•Spam - Unsolicited "junk" email sent in bulk form. Spam becomes extremely annoying and may overload your inbox.

How to Reduce Spam?

1.Don't reply to spam

2.Filter your email

3.Separate personal and business accounts

4.Don't forward chain e-mail messages

•Phishing Scams -M Fraudulent emails appearing to be from a known sender. These messages usually contain spoofed links asking for your login credentials. For example - the sender will mask their fake link, such as, please click here and log into your bank account, recent activity has been made.

How to Avoid Phishing Scams?

1.DO NOT CLICK (May sound like a simple concept, although the e-mails look 99.9% like institutions you interact with)

2.Read your e-mail as "plain" text (This will expose the "fake" links)

3.Call the direct support number of the company - DO NOT use the phone number in the e-mail. Search for the correct number, call and explain the fraudulent e-mail you're receiving.

4.Block the sender - if you confirm it's fake, be sure to block the sender. You don't want messages going forward.

•Malware - Software that has been installed on your PC that tries to infect your computer or mobile device. Hackers use malware for many reasons such as, stealing data, credit card information, money, passwords, etc.

How can you avoid Malware?

1.Install anti-malware software

2.Don't open unknown email attachments

As you can see cyber threats are no joke. Once a cyber-criminal creates a break through, they're exposed to all your personal data. Also, please note the cyber world has many additional threats. Commit to the proper research, understand the basics and avoid any breaches. If you're still unsure or uncomfortable, you may contact an industry thought leader such as SecurityRI.com. Trusted professional companies who study cyber threats can assist you and / or your business.