Spotting and Avoiding Tech Support Scams

Written by:

Matt Sabo
Technology Business Consultant
NET Xperts LLC


You’re waiting in line, your morning is rushed and you get an urgent email from your direct report requesting invoice credentials for one of your main clients. It’s a Wednesday. Usually these requests wait until Friday but without questioning it you send the information to satisfy your manager. 

In that instant, your credentials have been stolen.  

These types of attacks, known as “spoofing attacks,” are on the rise. These attacks happen when cyber criminals pretend to represent someone within the organization, or a partner of the organization, in order to steal information. Their goals are not genuine and, usually, have the goal of stealing your personal and business information. This information goes for top dollar on the dark web.  

How do you spot these scams?  

If you receive an unusual request and are questioning if it is legitimate, make sure to call the sender within your organization (from a known number) and confirm it is a legitimate request.

Double check the “from” domain in your emails if you have a hunch the email is fraudulent. Sometimes, cyber criminals make slight adjustments to the title, domain, or the name of a sender to make it appear as realistic as possible to disguise their malicious intent.

Finally, if you have sent credentials to a cyber criminal by mistake, contact your bank or financial institution immediately to halt the transfer of money. The best preventative way to spot threats is to set up automated programs to scrub your emails and not only block known threats, but to also scan for potential threats coming into your inbox. 

For more information on how to avoid these scams, give us a call at 412.244.NETX (6389) to speak with one of our Technology Business Consultants.

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