We like to think we are protected from scam artists. In exchange for our bank details, an email sender offered us $2 million. The game has changed and con artists are using new tactics. They are looking at the internet for all the information they can get about us.
Cyber security experts are taken in by scammers who are getting better at it.
Oliver Buckley remembers receiving an email from the pro-vice chancellor of his university.
This is it, I thought. I’m finally getting recognition from the people at the top. Something wasn’t right, though. Why was the pro-vice chancellor using his Gmail address? I asked how I could meet. He needed me to buy £800 worth of iTunes gift cards for him, and all I needed to do was scratch off the back and send him the code. Not wanting to let him down, I offered to pop down to his PA’s office and lend him the £5 note I had in my wallet. But I never heard back from him.
The emails of the prince of Nigeria are no longer in style. Social media is being used by scam artists to target people with tailored messages. It is possible to measure the strength of a relationship by looking at their posts and comments. In the first three months of the year, LinkedIn accounted for over half of all fraudulent activity.
People higher up in our social and professional hierarchy are more likely to get a response from us. Fraudsters are also aware of it.
Corporate structures are not needed to be researched by scammers. I lost my phone at the conference. A typical scam message is, "Can you ask XXX to send me report XXX?"
There are now nearly 75 times as many fraudulent websites on the internet as there are legitimate ones. Almost 20% of all employees are likely to click on a link in an email that leads to a fake website.
Businesses around the world spend US$20 billion a year on email spammers. Six out of ten mid-sized businesses in the UK were victims of fraud in 2020, suffering an average loss of over two hundred thousand dollars.
Targets are usually chosen based on their rank. If they work for or have connections to the organization, they may be targeted in a cyber attack.
The initial hook email is being used by fraudsters to engage with victims. The bot uses recent information fromLinkedIn and other social media platforms to lure victims into giving valuable information or transferring money. Over the last two to three years, the addition of chatbot to websites has increased interactions with customers. The Royal Mail scam is one example. Many companies give away free and paid services to build a chatbot.
There are more technical solutions that can be used to hide the identity of a scam artist.
Social media makes it easier for scam artists to send fake emails. Every day we share our data, we give fraudsters clues about our lives. Something as simple as visiting a website or using a website could be what it is. This nuanced approach exploits our tendency to attach significance to information that has something to do with us. When we check our inbox, we tend to pick out things that are special. illusory correlation is a term used in psychology to describe seeing things as related when they aren't.
Don't bait email scam artists. It's a good idea to confirm your email address is being used. The blanket bombing approach has been favored by scam artists for the last 20 years. It is very small.
If you want to avoid being tricked, double check the sender's details. Think about the information that may be out there about you, not just what you get. If you have more than one way to contact that person, do it.
All of us should be cautious with our data. If you don't want someone to know about it, don't put it on the internet.
It's easier to take a human approach with advanced technology. Video call technology and messaging apps make it easier to stay in touch with friends and family. It is giving people who will do you harm. We have to use our instincts. Pay attention if something feels wrong.
The article by Max Eiza, senior lecturer in computer security at John Moores University, and Oliver Buckley, associate professor in cyber security at the University of East Anglia was originally published in The Conversation. The original article is worth a read.
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