Phishing scams are one of the biggest security threats to your business right now.
A massive 83% of organisations said they suffered successful attacks last year. And with just under a third of phishing emails being opened, the chances that someone in your business will be fooled are high.
But to make matters more difficult, cyber criminals have borrowed a technique from ransomware groups that is designed to panic people into taking action and giving away their login details.
This new kind of phishing attack begins like most others.
You get an email alerting you to potentially suspicious activity on your account. It might say someone is trying to login from a different location or device and the attempt has been blocked.
You’re then asked to click a link to verify your email address and password.
That’s worrying enough, right?
But what makes this phishing attack even more dangerous, is the countdown timer that appears on screen.
Typically, it’s set at one hour, and you’re asked to confirm your details before the countdown ends, otherwise your account will be deleted.
Yes, deleted! That catches a lot of people’s attention.
This is a powerful manipulation tactic designed to scare people into taking immediate action – and think later.
In reality, if that countdown hits zero nothing will happen. But watching the seconds count down can give you a sense of urgency that makes you forget to check whether an email is the real deal or not.