Impersonation attacks are emails that impersonate a trusted individual or company in an attempt to gain access to sensitive data or finances. These attacks can be hard to spot and potentially lethal for businesses. The FBI has warned businesses about the growing threat, they estimate that such attacks have caused losses of approximately $5.3 billion globally. Ensure that you and all your staff are aware of what to look out for to stay one step ahead of the hackers and prevent email impersonation attacks.
Lookalike email domain
Attackers will often register a very similar email domain and create a new email ID using a similar name to the person they’re impersonating. They will then email the target requesting an urgent response. As the email is only slightly different the victim will often not spot the difference and will send the sensitive data that the attacker asks for.
Edited display name
Another technique attackers use is editing the display name of the sender. If your email app only shows the display name and not the email the attacker can easily fool their victim. The increasing reliance on mobiles for email access has contributed to the success of such attacks. When you’re accessing your emails from a desktop both the name and email of the sender are shown which lowers the chance of falling for the attack.
A free email account
A common tactic used by cybercriminals is to send a message through a free email account such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail etc. In the email the sender will probably indicate that they’ve been locked out of their email account and need immediate help to complete an urgent task.
If you’re serious about protecting your business from impersonation attacks you should use an email security service such as MailCleaner. MailCleaner’s features fight effectively against email impersonation attacks, phishing, ransomware, malware, cryptolocker and other threats.
To find out more about MailCleaner can protect your business from cyber criminals contact us today!