KITE I.T. Pros

So, what should you do if you get a dangerous or even suspicious email?

1. Never open any attachments or links in shady emails. Open a new tab in your web browser if you receive questionable communication from a company and are concerned that it might be genuine. then use one of your own saved favorites or a web search to access the organization's website. You can also call the organization by dialing the number on the back of your membership card, on a bill or statement, or on its official website.

2. If the suspicious message looks to be from someone you know, get in touch with them by phone or text message to confirm it.

3. Report the message to your IT staff or email provider.

4. Remove it so there is no chance that you could accidentally click on it or that it could be tracking something in the background.

Yes - cyber criminals are getting a lot smarter and a lot more sophisticated, which means it is getting harder and harder to spot spoof emails.

This, in turn, means that a growing number of business owners and team members are falling for said attacks.

To give you an idea of how sophisticated and common these attacks are becoming - SlashNext, a messaging security company, conducted a study in October 2022 that examined billions of link-based URLs, attachments, and natural language messages sent over email, mobile devices, and web browsers over six months and discovered more than 255 million threats.

That represents a 61% rise in phishing assaults since 2021.