If You Have Been Scammed by Email, You Have a lot of Company!

If You Have Been Scammed by Email, You Have a lot of Company!

Attempted scam emails occur by the billions each day. The average American will get dozens daily. There are hundreds of software ‘remedies’ and ‘protection’ products out there, rendering their authors billions of dollars each year. With all that emphasis on email scams, you would think that we are too smart to fall for it now. Unfortunately, that is not the case. As we get smarter, and protection software gets more sophisticated, so do the scammers. They change tactics like underwear. And people keep falling for it year after year.

You may think naive kids or low-tech savvy adults are the only ones who need to worry. But that is not true, especially when a lot of scams are triggered when the recipient is on a mobile device. We do like to swipe and click, don’t we? How many oops swipes have you had? Here are some notable scam victims to consider.

Victim 1: The aerospace CEO

This fellow, Mr. Stephan, lost over $40 million dollars in an email scam. The scammers emailed an accounting employee in the firm while spoofing the CEO’s email address. The email instructed him to transfer funds to an account and the employee complied. What is scary about this is that sometimes a person can be victimized without even being involved in the scam.

PARKERTECHGROUP has had customers get similar emails from a boss. They were sharp enough to question the email, either speaking to the boss or to us, to verify the email. Comforting but still scary. It is easy for scammers to harvest email addresses. Be aware!

Victims 2 through 99,999,999 and counting: Your Friend, the Nigerian Prince

We have all got this one in the email. A Nigerian prince has millions to give you for a favor. He just needs your bank account information and some of your funds to cover his transfer costs. Oh yeah, this one is a beauty. Obviously, a scam, right?

Evidently not. Last year, those scams garnered almost $750,000. Not bad for a very old scam that, like a good watch, just keeps on ticking.

Victims (two many to count): The Famous Fake Confirmation Email

Each year, Americans buy more goods and services online. Ever heard of Amazon? All major retailers like Target, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. have their own e-commerce platforms. A consistent feature of this software is a confirmation of your order. We like them, we crave them, we freak if we do not get them after an order. They are necessary and expected. The confirmation looks real, nice logo and colors and all. And you did just buy something from them….

These emails will have embedded malware and a link, that if clicked, sets off the bomb. You may not get financially hit, but your computer may become the latest ‘zombie’ in their arsenal, and you can unknowingly begin launching spam emails to people everywhere. Ugly.

You may say, this won’t happen to me. You know exactly who you buy from and how much it costs. Good for you, you are probably going to be okay. But consider the business who buys exclusively online, hundreds of purchases per month, purchased by multiple employees. Or the kid that gets the tablet and accesses the site on line with your session open and your payment method stored on it. Tip: take your tablet with you when you go to the bathroom or kitchen. Just saying. I know a few folks that had this happen to them.

Email scams are with us to stay. Better and brighter, they continually evolve. You need to protect yourself as best you can. Work with your IT provider to use a competent email software package that can help reduce your exposure. But above all, exercise common sense. If it smells 1% fishy, stop and investigate. Happy emailing out there.

As we approach the end of another year, and what a wild ride it was, many business owners are beginning to review the year to see how things went for
them. How were sales? How did the new product launch go? How did the new location perform?
But how many business owners ask the question “Was my IT company, that I rely on so much, actually productive for me this year?”.
Before we go further, we need to clarify that an IT company that is busy for you is not the same as one that is productive for you. Keep that in mind
as your read this article.
Much of what a good IT company, generally known as an MSP (managed services provider), does is behind the scenes. Good data integrity services like
data backups, replication, security, recovery, and automation are one such hidden task. Other tasks such as remote monitoring and management of your
network 24/7 is another. These services, running all the time, are usually only noticeable when there is a problem or when you see the monthly itemized invoice. BTW: if your IT company does not itemize its invoice, you should really find out why. What exactly are you paying for?
So, if your IT company is doing all this for you, are they productive for you?
Not really. What they are doing is preventative in nature. They are protecting you. And that is very good. But all good MSPs protect their clients.
That is MSP 101. What you need to know is how do they make your business and your IT resources productive?

Here are three things to consider:

  1. Is your MSP a Guard or a Scout?
    A guard is someone who stands vigil, he is preventative. A scout is someone who actively moves around to warn you and to help you take advantage of
    opportunities. Does your MSP scout for opportunities for you? Does he seek out savings on IT or ways to make you more productive. In effect, is he a
    consultant for you. Most MSPs will gladly tell you ways to improve your operations, but you might have to corral them because they are busy.
  2. Is your MSP a Resource or a Pain?
    At PARKERTECHGROUP we have inherited many clients that were burned by their former IT company. Besides these new client being skittish of geeks, we
    have noticed a common experience among them – they felt that the former company did not willingly advise them of issues or opportunities. The phrase
    “like pulling eye teeth” epitomizes their stories. We believe consulting is one of the most appreciated services we provide for our clients. We have
    even answered Christmas present tech questions from time to time.
  3. Is your MSP looking for business for you?
    We can all acknowledge that a business referral is the best means of advertising. It is free and it is trusted by the hearer. MSPs often ask their
    business clients to refer them to others. However, not many refer their clients to other clients or businesses on an active basis. We think that’s a
    shame. And we think that is something you need to think about when looking at your MSP relationship.

There are more than these three indicators that your MSP is productive for you, but these hit the target- opportunistic internally for your business,
communicative when you need their advice, and opportunistic externally with referrals. If your current MSP is not doing well on these three factors,
it may be time for a change.

Related Articles

If You Have Been Scammed by Email, You Have a lot of Company!

Attempted scam emails occur by the billions each day. The average American will get dozens daily. There are hundreds of software ‘remedies’ and ‘protection’ products out there, rendering their authors billions of dollars each year. With all that emphasis on email scams, you would think that we are too smart to fall for it now. Unfortunately, that is not the case. As we get smarter, and protection software gets more sophisticated, so do the scammers. They change tactics like underwear. And people keep falling for it year after year.

You may think naive kids or low-tech savvy adults are the only ones who need to worry. But that is not true, especially when a lot of scams are triggered when the recipient is on a mobile device. We do like to swipe and click, don’t we? How many oops swipes have you had? Here are some notable scam victims to consider.

Victim 1: The aerospace CEO

This fellow, Mr. Stephan, lost over $40 million dollars in an email scam. The scammers emailed an accounting employee in the firm while spoofing the CEO’s email address. The email instructed him to transfer funds to an account and the employee complied. What is scary about this is that sometimes a person can be victimized without even being involved in the scam.

PARKERTECHGROUP has had customers get similar emails from a boss. They were sharp enough to question the email, either speaking to the boss or to us, to verify the email. Comforting but still scary. It is easy for scammers to harvest email addresses. Be aware!

Victims 2 through 99,999,999 and counting: Your Friend, the Nigerian Prince

We have all got this one in the email. A Nigerian prince has millions to give you for a favor. He just needs your bank account information and some of your funds to cover his transfer costs. Oh yeah, this one is a beauty. Obviously, a scam, right?

Evidently not. Last year, those scams garnered almost $750,000. Not bad for a very old scam that, like a good watch, just keeps on ticking.

Victims (two many to count): The Famous Fake Confirmation Email

Each year, Americans buy more goods and services online. Ever heard of Amazon? All major retailers like Target, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. have their own e-commerce platforms. A consistent feature of this software is a confirmation of your order. We like them, we crave them, we freak if we do not get them after an order. They are necessary and expected. The confirmation looks real, nice logo and colors and all. And you did just buy something from them….

These emails will have embedded malware and a link, that if clicked, sets off the bomb. You may not get financially hit, but your computer may become the latest ‘zombie’ in their arsenal, and you can unknowingly begin launching spam emails to people everywhere. Ugly.

You may say, this won’t happen to me. You know exactly who you buy from and how much it costs. Good for you, you are probably going to be okay. But consider the business who buys exclusively online, hundreds of purchases per month, purchased by multiple employees. Or the kid that gets the tablet and accesses the site on line with your session open and your payment method stored on it. Tip: take your tablet with you when you go to the bathroom or kitchen. Just saying. I know a few folks that had this happen to them.

Email scams are with us to stay. Better and brighter, they continually evolve. You need to protect yourself as best you can. Work with your IT provider to use a competent email software package that can help reduce your exposure. But above all, exercise common sense. If it smells 1% fishy, stop and investigate. Happy emailing out there.

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