By Publix - November 6, 2013

Don’t get reeled in by spear phishing

Train and develop people
Spear Phishing

Have you ever been a victim of identity theft or preyed on by Internet scammers?

It’s more common than you might think, and it comes at a price — your personal and financial information. Know when to be suspicious and prevent attempts to access your computer and your secure information.

Emails can be sent to you at work or home that appear to be from trusted sources but in actuality are anything but that. It’s called spear phishing. At work, these emails may look like they were sent from someone in your department or even a manager. At home, they may appear to be from a friend, family member, bank or other company you do business with. These emails generally contain links to websites, requesting personal information that can be used to steal your identity, or a user id and password which can be used to compromise your accounts.

Spear phishing emails can even resemble shipment tracking emails sent by companies like FedEx or UPS. When you click the link to what appears to be shipment information, a virus is downloaded onto your computer, allowing hackers to gain access to credit card information, account passwords and email accounts.

Keep Publix’s information safe

  • Never open an email from an unfamiliar source unless you are expecting a specific correspondence.
  • Don’t open attachments unless you are expecting one. Even your co-workers’ email accounts can become infected with a virus. Viruses can spread automatically by sending attachments containing the virus to everyone on a given email contact list.
  • Don’t open files with an .exe or .bat extension. These types of files can install unknown malicious software on your computer, such as key loggers, and programs that search your computer and the Publix network for confidential information.
  • Use caution when clicking links in an email message. If you believe the web address is real, type it directly into your web browser. In email, links can be made to look legitimate but actually connect to a different web address.

On average, 500 million spear phishing emails are sent every day.

Did you know?

  • Banks and credit card companies do not send email messages requesting a customer’s personal information, bank accounts or card numbers, and they never send unsolicited attachments.
  • FedEx and UPS do not send unsolicited emails requesting information regarding packages, invoices, account numbers or other personal information.