Distributed Spam Distraction: A new attack is hitting inboxes
As business owners, we send and receive dozens of emails per day. And, unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past twenty years, you would have received your fair share of spam email. These emails are usually harmless – unless they have malware attached. However, for some, an abundance of spam emails are causing a lot of headaches.
Distributed spam distraction isn’t a new tactic, but it is evolving.
If you’ve not heard of this sneaky method of cyberattack before, distributed spam distraction floods your email inbox with thousands (up to 60,000) of spam emails.
Generally, these emails aren’t malicious – they have no malware attached or links to dangerous websites.
Harmless but annoying, you’re probably thinking?
Well, not exactly.
DSD is a distraction from the real damage being done to your business.
The influx of spam email serves as a smokescreen for genuine payment confirmation messages and notifications as the hackers use your bank details to make purchases and transfers for their own gain.
What’s scary about this form of attack is that, as people have become wise to DSD, hackers are becoming smarter.
Moving away from thousands of nonsensical email and towards signing you up to hundreds of free accounts and newsletters, so you receive genuine emails that are harder to detect as spam.
How can you prevent a DSD attack?
Be extra vigilant with what you receive in your inbox.
Can’t remember signing up to that newsletter? Unsubscribe so that you can spot DSD easier.
Meanwhile, keep a close eye on what’s going in and out of your accounts. Nowadays, you should be able to set up text alerts for any large purchases or when a new payee has been added.
You can also update your anti-spam software and ensure your bank and email accounts are well protected by changing passwords and pins regularly and enabling multi-factor authentication.
If your inbox is suddenly deluged with dozens of messages, call your bank and ask about any unusual activity that has taken place.
If you’re concerned about your business cybersecurity, give us a call today to get some advice on how to start strengthening your defences against hackers.