Bank failures are not uncommon, but they can create a ripple effect on the economy and on individuals' financial well-being. Recently, two large banks failed, and a third bank is on the brink of failure. These failures are not only concerning for the customers of these banks but also for other financial institutions and businesses that may become targets for scams and phishing attacks. In today's post, we discuss the threat of downstream scams and phishing and provide tips on how to protect your business amidst this global event.

This blog isn’t about fish, fishers, or fishing of any kind. Nor is this about the jam band your brother Spencer followed around for a few years after college. This blog is about one of the most pervasive and surprisingly effective tools that nefarious types use to gain access to your information: Phishing.

Statista posits that 320 billion emails were sent in 2021 and 375 billion are estimated to be sent by 2025. That is 12,000 emails per second, meaning there are a whole bunch of opportunities for phishing to happen.

And it seems, no matter how robust your system and strategy, phishing attempts still find success. Those trying to access your information are getting better at slipping those phishing attacks through the weak spots in platform email defenses. Leaning on a variety of advanced techniques, they're also doing more targeting and research on victims than ever before.

2020 has changed the dependence on remote work overnight. Cybersecurity across industries have had to adjust quickly to new strategies. And bad guys have found new ways to attack. In addition to all of the ongoing threats, there is a lot to keep up with when it comes to securing your business. Here's what you should pay attention to. 

"I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(“FBI”), and have been so employed since approximately March 2015...I primarily investigate cyber-enabled fraud and business email compromise (“BEC”) schemes," that's how the FBI's criminal complaint against Ray "Hushpuppi" Abbas begins. Abbas is the Nigerian man accused of participating in a massive email scam operation targeting US businesses. 

Did you know that 43% of all cyber crime is directed towards small businesses? This is due to a number of factors, but mainly because a majority of small businesses still refuse to take a proactive approach when it comes to cybersecurity. As long as SMBs are willing to sit back and allow hackers to target them, the number of attacks on small businesses are only going to continue to increase.