Industry Insights

Blog, Security

Be Wary of the Links You Receive

by | Monday, November 14th, 2022

If PayPal randomly texts or emails you telling you that it has suspended your account, while also asking you to authenticate your identity with a random link, then think twice before clicking on the link. This is a common tactic used by hackers to break into accounts just like yours, and we urge you to instead access your account the way you normally would.

Let’s look at why this is an important practice:

Hypothetically Speaking, What Would You Do?

It’s safe to say that no one wants to fall for a phishing scam, but at the same time, it can be tempting to trust the message to ensure there is nothing wrong with your account.

The best approach is simple, but not one that we intuitively think to do.

Rather than using the provided link, a matter of convenience, open up a new web browser tab and go to the website the way you would normally access your account. It doesn’t really matter what type of account you’re accessing—it could be your bank, a favorite retailer, or any website you have an account with—this practice will work with all of them. Just go log into the site in question directly without using the link in the suspicious email. This simple practice will do a lot to keep you from suffering from a phishing attack.

Let’s Work Together to Train Your Team and Keep Them Safe

If you want the best tools and resources on the market to handle the growing number of phishing and security attacks, look no further than Compudata. We can build your business’ defenses and train your team on best practices for identifying potential threats. Get started today by calling us at 1-855-405-8889.

A Glimpse Into What Compliance Looks Like for Businesses

It’s easy to see all the reasons why you should make data regulations and compliance a priority. After all, you want to ensure you don’t violate the trust and security of your customers, as well as the integrity of your operations. If you make even one mistake, it...

AI Search Isn’t There Yet

People do this all the time: if they don’t know an answer, they just make something up that sounds right. It turns out AI has the same bad habit. A Study Put AI Search to the Test, and It Did Not Go Well Researchers at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism (part of...

Remote Work Is Great, but There Are Some Pitfalls

Do you have employees working remotely? If you do, the real question is, are you doing everything you can to keep them productive and secure? Remote work is awesome, but it comes with its fair share of risks. Today, we get into how to competently confront them. Remote...

Hiring IT is Hard (Here’s How to Make It Easier)

Do you have someone on your staff who can handle most IT-related issues for your business? If not, we’re sure your organization feels it in more ways than one. The issues that come from not having IT help are only made more frustrating when it comes time to find IT...

Let’s Take the Lid Off of CAPTCHA

We've officially reached the point where humans have to prove they're, well, human just to access websites. One of the most common ways to do this? CAPTCHA. CAPTCHA stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. It might sound...

Automation Isn’t Always the Best Business Option

Automation makes sense from an operations standpoint, and people see this despite the many who advocate for scaling back to save jobs. For every task that can be completed, however, less than half can be automated. When you consider all the tasks that a human might be...

More Reading from Industry Insights:

AI Search Isn’t There Yet

People do this all the time: if they don’t know an answer, they just make something up that sounds right. It turns out AI has the same bad habit. A Study Put AI Search to the Test, and It Did Not Go Well Researchers at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism (part of...

Hiring IT is Hard (Here’s How to Make It Easier)

Do you have someone on your staff who can handle most IT-related issues for your business? If not, we’re sure your organization feels it in more ways than one. The issues that come from not having IT help are only made more frustrating when it comes time to find IT...