Top Social Media Email Phishing Subjects

42% LinkedIn Phishing Emails – You appeared in new searches this week! etc.

21% Facebook – Your friend tagged you…

10% Twitter – Someone has send you a Direct Message on Twitter

10% Chrome – Login alert on Motorola Moto X

9% Voicemail to Email – New Voice Message at 1AM

8% Spam – 55th Anniversary and Free Pizza!

Key Takeaway

LinkedIn messages continue to dominate the top social media email subjects, with several variations of messages such as “people are looking at your profile” or “add me.” Other alerts containing security-related warnings come unexpectedly and can cause feelings of alarm. Messages such as a friend tagged you in a photo or mentioned you can make someone feel special and entice them to click. And everyone loves free pizza!

As high as 30% of untrained staff have proven to fall prey to these phishing emails in our security awareness audits. Did you inadvertently pay that fake invoice? According to the Competition Bureau 95% of people don’t even report the fraud to authorities. https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/eng/02600.html

Ready to do something about it?

Reach out to our team and we’ll arrange a free Security Awareness Audit to put together a training plan for your team. Education and training is less costly than you might think, and not as intrusive on your team where the benefits far outweigh the efforts. Call us at 905-524-2001 or email at sales@netaccess.ca to get started.

 

Could you spot this fake?

According to Government of Canada Competition Bureau:

Full size Invoice PDF

The logo is the same as the real “walking fingers” logo, but it is going in the opposite direction…also the company name is slightly different. Intentionally deceptive.  And so what? It’s not a big amount right? Well, the first one might not be. But they will add up over time. Your staff might not worry about it because of the small amount and pay the bill. The fraudulent vendors are then on your vendor lists. That means the next invoice is more likely to be paid without question. What’s more, your organization is now on a “sucker list” and your business information could be shared with other fraudsters, who will target you in future schemes.

Background:

Four individuals were convicted in April 2004 as a result of their involvement in sending out mail appearing to be bills or invoices from Bell Canada or Yellow Pages directories. In fact, they were solicitations to have the recipients’ business details appear in Internet‑based directories operating under the names Yellow Business Pages.com and Yellow Business Directory.com.

Between May and December 2000, these individuals sent mail to an estimated 900,000 business and non‑profit organizations in Canada. The Competition Bureau received more than 4,400 complaints about the phoney invoices, which asked victims to send amounts of either $25.52 or $37.40 to a post office box in Toronto. This scheme generated over $1 million.

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