Scam Emails
Email scams are one of the most common cybersecurity threats faced by businesses today. From phishing emails to malware attachments, scammers are constantly evolving their tactics to trick employees into revealing sensitive information or compromising systems. Learning how to spot, avoid and respond to scam emails is crucial for protecting your business and your data.
Understanding how these scams work and what to do when something goes wrong is vital to help reduce the chances of falling victim to them and limiting the damage if someone does make a mistake.
Types of Phishing Links
If an employee clicks on a phishing link, the potential risks and consequences depend entirely on the link itself and what it was intended to do. In many cases, it leads to a fake login page designed to harvest usernames and passwords. If the user enters their credentials, scammers can gain access to business accounts, email inboxes, or even wider systems.
More severe phishing links may trigger automatic downloads of malicious software such as ransomware, spyware or keyloggers. These can run in the background without the user noticing, capturing keystrokes, copying files or locking systems entirely.
What Should I Do If Someone Clicks a Phishing Link?
The most important thing to remember is not to panic. If a phishing link is clicked, there’s a few steps you should follow:
- Do not continue interacting with the page; Close the site immediately.
- Inform your IT support team straight away. They can begin checking logs, isolating the device if needed, and scanning for malware.
- If login details were entered, change those passwords immediately. Make sure not to simply change the password for the affected account, but for any others using the same or similar usernames and passwords.
- Watch for suspicious behaviour on the device. If there’s any sign of slowdown, pop-ups or unexpected software activity, the device may need to be disconnected from the network and scanned fully.
Quick action makes a big difference and can often prevent a small mistake from becoming a major breach.