Police say five businesses, including law firms, have been targeted in recent days
Businesses across Northern Ireland have been warned to be on their guard against phishing. The warning from police follows reports of a number of local businesses, in particular those within the legal sector, being targeted by scammers.
The term ‘phishing’ is mostly commonly associated with the use of deceptive emails to obtain sensitive information. The warning has been issued by the PSNI ‘s Cyber Crime Centre who say that five businesses, including law firms, have been targeted in recent days
Issuing the warning, Regional Cyber Protect Officer, Detective Constable Sam Kinkaid, said: “We’re asking everyone, in particular local businesses, to be on their guard. We’ve recently seen phishing emails reach a number of organisations, including law firms. And, in the last few days alone, thanks to reports to Action Fraud and local engagement, we have been made aware of five targeted businesses.”
READ MORE: PSNI issue fraud warning after victim swindled out of thousands of poundsREAD MORE: PSNI warning as victim conned out of £20,000 in personal development scam
Detective Constable Kinkaid describes a common pattern to the recent attacks: “An employee receives a phishing email that has been sent by criminals using a compromised known contact detailing a file share that can be accessed via a ‘Secure Portal’. “The recipient is directed to a Microsoft Sway webpage displaying the senders company logo and a link to access the ‘Secure Portal’ in order to view the shared document. On attempting to access the ‘Portal’, the victim is taken to a Sign In page that will present a ‘captcha’ request. “On completing the ‘captcha’ employees will be presented with a hoax Microsoft ‘Sign in’ page, designed to capture username and password credentials.”
DC Kinkaid continued: “Phishing emails can target organisations of any size, type or location. They’re typically intended to prompt employees to click a link to a fake website, which could, for example, result in the installation of malware or as in this case, harvest email credentials that can be used to gain unauthorised access to business email accounts.
“Scammers may seek to monitor the content of employees’ emails; they may try to get their hands on sensitive or personal information or look to divert incoming or outgoing payments. Basically, they’ll use whatever trickery they can to make money. “While criminals can and will change the appearance of phishing emails on a regular basis, if presented with a Sign In page and a request to enter email credentials, a check of the website URL will confirm it is not a genuine Microsoft address. “Working with partner agencies such as the Northern Ireland Cyber Security Centre, we’re determined to help protect organisations from the growing threat of phishing and other cyberattacks. “We’re asking all employees to be wary of clicking on any unverified links, no matter how familiar the sender’s email address may be and if prompted to do so by an email, avoid entering an email password without first seeking advice. We would encourage employers to have a reporting system in place, should a member of staff be tricked into clicking a suspect link and entering their credentials.” Any organisation experiencing an email account compromise can report the incident to Action Fraud at www.actionfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040. The Police Service’s Cyber Crime Centre is offering free cyber awareness sessions to local organisations. To find out more see www.psni.police.uk/cyber-protect. In addition, advice on how to safeguard your business from the dangers of phishing can be found on the National Cyber Security website at www.ncsc.gov.uk.
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
#spot #signs #latest #scam #police #issue #warning
