We have recently seen a large increase in social engineering activities. These activities continue to become more sophisticated and it can be tricky to distinguish these from a normal communication. Security is a top priority for us and in response to these targeted phishing/social engineering attempts, we want to provide information to help keep you secure.
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering is an attempt, by criminals who pose as a legitimate source, to lure individuals into providing sensitive information. These criminals target individuals by email, telephone, or text message in hopes of gathering personally identifiable information, such as banking and credit card details and passwords. These attempts come in many different forms with attackers masquerading as a trusted entity of some kind, often a real or plausibly real person, or a company the victim might do business with. Messages will try to trick victims into clicking a link that asks for login credentials or downloading an attachment that installs malware onto the victim's device.Â
What steps can I take to avoid social engineering attempts?
If an email looks at all unusual or is asking for any personal information, it's always safest to verify the request before clicking on any links or attachments or providing anyone with the information requested. If you’re unsure of where an email is originating from, do not use the phone numbers included and instead use contact information you have for the person contacting you.
What if I click on a social engineering link?
If you do happen to click on a link that seems suspicious contact your IT staff at 1.800.358.7447 right away. Once you have clicked a phishing link, your computer can be vulnerable to ongoing social engineering/phishing methods and your personal information could be unsecure.