I know you, yes, you you're a sales guy
and I know where you work because I found you
on LinkedIn.
I also know who your customers are because I read
your customer testimonials.
I bet if I send you an email from one of them
at the end of the quarter and attached a purchase order,
you won't be able to resist opening it.
This will help with the trip
I saw you were planning on Facebook.
Hey, you may even forward it to your VP of sales and finance.
All I need to do is hide malware in the attached file
to attack your company.
Nasty, right?
That's a spear phishing attack.
The more I know about you, the easier it is to fool you.
So what can you do?
Look for signs, like does the style of the email
feel different from previous emails you received
from that particular person?
Are you expecting this email?
Does it cause you angst, stress, euphoria, happiness,
or any other emotion that makes you want to do something?
Checking for any spelling mistakes in the sender address
is a must.
However, that by itself is not enough
because there are ways to spoof an email address to make it
look identical to the real one.
So make it a habit to take a few moments,
let the emotions settle down and call the sender
to verify if they actually sent the email.