October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Hey Boyle County, I just wanted to take a moment to chat about Cybersecurity. It is something we all think will never happen to us. We won’t fall for anything like that. This holiday season will bring all these scammer folks out of the woodwork who have nothing better than to try and take advantage of your good nature and wallet. I hope to give you some things to watch for in your email.
A good example is the gift card email scam from someone you know, or at least you know the name that is displayed. It seems to be an attempt to try and reward people, including yourself, for one thing or another. Unfortunately, it is not, it is just a good spoof of an email address.
Let’s say you know my email address is itdirector@googlemail.com. You have emailed me at this address many times. It always shows up in your inbox as “William S. Nichols <itdirector@googlemail.com> ". In the rush of a normal day, you might receive an email stating I need your help with something, BUT a closer look at the sending email shows “William S. Nichols <someotherinfo@scammersmail.net>" THIS IS THE FIRST CLUE it may not be me. Make a call to verify verbally the email is legitimate with who you believe the sender to be.
As the scam goes on, you email back and forth a time or two and you finally learn the scammer wants you to buy AND ACTIVATE gift cards for distribution by “me”, but I don’t want the cards just simply take a picture of the back and send me that. DON’T DO IT. Never send pictures of a BANK or GIFT CARD through email. 99.9% of the time, this is only done by scammers.
At this point if you still think it MIGHT just be legitimate, verify with a phone call. These emails will make you believe it must be done quickly and you don’t have time to make a call because the sender is in a meeting. Don’t believe it, there is always time to verify. Make the call.
During this holiday season we all want to be a bit kinder and more giving, but Don’t Take the Bait.
- Be suspicious of emails that beg you to act immediately or ask for personal information.
- Be wary of opening attachments.
- Verify the senders’ address.
- Before providing any kind of personal or county information, call and verify with the source that they are indeed the ones who sent the email or message.
Enjoy the holiday season and don't take the bait!!
Bill Nichols
IT Director, Boyle County Fiscal Court
Note: Email addresses used in the article are not valid emails.