A California lawyer clicks on an email attachment unknowingly allowing a hacker to download a virus that tracks his keystrokes. When the lawyer accesses his bank account on the same computer, he is directed to a phony bank site that asks directly for his PIN rather than his usual log-in information. Next, the hacker calls the attorney and poses as a bank employee in order to get the access to the rest of the attorney’s log-in and security information. This allows the hacker to empty nearly $300,000 from the attorney’s bank account in a transfer to an overseas bank. All of this occurs in less than three days and leaves the lawyer without recourse to recover the money. Click here for the full story from the ABA Journal.
Clearly phishing and data breaches represent a very real concern for everyone who places anything of value online - like the lawyer in this true story. Do not fool yourself into thinking that it will never happen to you. Regardless of the sophistication of the scam, theoretically if hackers send these phishing emails out to enough people they will find someone to bite because he or she is either unfamiliar with computers or were not paying close attention to the email’s identification. You can protect yourself from this growing problem by being informed and being aware of these avoidable scams.
Phishing, Spear Phishing, and Whaling are all versions of the same scam. Isn’t it sad that enough online scams are successful that we now have a lexicon dedicated to them?
To learn more about what you can do to protect your business from hackers and to speak with a cybersecurity attorney contact the Goosmann Law Firm at info@goosmannlaw.com or (712) 226-4000.