Who really falls for a phishing scam? 
It’s probably a question you’ve asked yourself or said to a friend or colleague.
People fall for phishing scams all the time, it’s why they continue to happen. Sure, there are a lot of “Nigerian Prince” emails that get sent. These are the most obvious and well known but they aren’t the only scam running these days. There are multiple ways to get phished – some of which can be extremely convincing.
The question, “What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished?” was recently posed on Reply All, a podcast that covers all things internet related. The host basically hired someone to phish her coworkers and guess what? It worked. The host’s extremely skeptical and intelligent coworkers took the bait and gave up their passwords to a very high tech and convincing scam.
Professional hackers can do everything from impersonate email addresses to impersonate trusted sites like Google or Dropbox. The podcast is definitely worth a listen. They explain how phishing scams work, and how they were able to phish their boss and CEO.
Give it a listen here: Reply All: What Kind of Idiot Gets Phished?
It’s important to stay up to date on the latest scams, to warn your clients, and to train employees on security best practices. Here are some other resources to check out.
7 Ways to Keep Client Data Secure
6 Common Phishing Attacks and How to Protect Against Them
Refund Scam Round-up: Know What You’re Up Against
Protect Yourself and Clients from Cybercrime
How to Protect Your Client Information
Are You Covered in the Event of a Data Breach?