Cyber Security Awareness Month
Observed every October, the annual Cyber Security Awareness Month is committed to encouraging personal accountability, securing behaviors, and maintaining digital privacy in the cybersecurity landscape. This initiative was created as a joint effort between government and industry providing resources to stay safe and secure online.
This October we are focusing on current trends and following good security habits.
Phishing and Scams Using AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Last week we saw how Human Error has been identified as the leading reason for most security incidents. This week we look at how AI is now used to scam you. Phishing does not just happen through email, it can be over Text, Phone and even social media. With the evolving AI scammers are making it harder for you to detect these scams. Watch this NBC news video and see how easy it is to clone someone's voice from a family member, a friend, a co-worker, even your boss. Pay attention to the things that you can do before you get scammed out of your money or personal information.
(NBC News AI Voice Clone Scam - plays on YouTube may have Ad)
Tips to prevent being scammed by AI phishing:
Pay attention - Be skeptical of any request for money or personal information. Anyone's voice can be mimicked.
Confirm. Do not be fooled. Always confirm by calling the person back on a known number.
Safe word - Pause for a second and ask a personal question that person would know. What did you have for dinner? Or something that happened the last time you saw them. For family members it could be setting up a secret word or phrase they can use when in distress.
Do not trust caller id number it can be spoofed. This is true for Text messages, Phone calls.
Do not trust any request for money, gift cards or personal information.
Phishing Scams that come over text can look like this using AI to create better sounding text messages. Do not be fooled.
Some tips on protecting yourself from AI Text Scams
Urgent or Threatening Requests: Be skeptical, scammers use urgency to pressure you into giving personal information, buying gift cards, or even sending money.
Unsolicited Requests: Legitimate organizations do not request sensitive information via text messages. Such as unexpected job offers, internships, fines to be paid, or requesting credentials for user accounts.
Suspicious Links: Just as we saw with QR codes, refrain from clicking on links within text messages unless you have confirmed the link is legitimate. Instead, visit the website directly and log in from there.
Don't Respond: Unsure, do not reply to the message or engage with the sender in any way. If you think the message is legitimate, always confirm by calling the person directly on a known number. For links go directly to their official web site and do not use the link in the text message.
Observed every October, the annual Cyber Security Awareness Month is committed to encouraging personal accountability, securing behaviors, and maintaining digital privacy in the cybersecurity landscape. This initiative was created as a joint effort between government and industry providing resources to stay safe and secure online.