Holiday Scams Are Coming for Your Business
Like every holiday season, scammers are getting creative, and small businesses are their favorite target. In today’s newsletter, we’re breaking down the latest tricks and showing you exactly how to spot them.
Scammers Don’t Take Holidays
Scammers love the holiday season, and small businesses are their top targets. They often lack the advanced security resources of larger enterprises, making them an easier entry point for cybercriminals.
Fake Package Delivery Emails
These scams prey on the increase in online shopping. Employees receive emails that look like legitimate shipping notifications, but they often contain malicious links or attachments.
Phishing Disguised as Executive Requests
Scammers impersonate high-ranking executives to request sensitive information or urgent actions. An employee might receive an email appearing to be from their manager urgently asking for login details or for gift cards.
SMS Phishing (Smishing)
Cybercriminals are extending their reach to mobile devices, sending text messages with urgent requests and malicious links.
How to Protect Your Business
1. Educate and Train Your Team
- Regular Training Programs teach employees how to recognize suspicious emails
- Phishing Red Flags: generic greetings, urgent language, typos, unexpected requests
- Role-Specific Training for finance and customer service teams
2. Test Your Defenses
- Phishing Simulations to see how employees respond
- Network Penetration Testing to assess overall security
- Third-Party Assessments by an unbiased cybersecurity firm
3. Strengthen Your Technology
- Real-Time Threat Detection, AI-driven solutions like Juniper’s AI-Native Edge
- Secure Access with ZTNA, Extreme Networks’ ExtremeCloud Universal ZTNA
- 24/7 Monitoring, Arctic Wolf Security Monitoring
