A new survey has showed that about a third of those questioned have fallen victim to phishing attacks since the Covid-19 outbreak
The Covid-19 outbreak has forced everyone out of their normal routines and is causing some companies and staff to make extra allowances for working remotely. Unfortunately, scammers are taking advantage of the confusion to trick people into handing over passwords, personal details, and even company account logins.
A new survey conducted by research firm Capterra has found a worrying rise in the number of people falling victim to phishing attacks and poor password safety in companies now working remote. With face-to-face teams now replaced by video calls and more people communicating with their coworkers by email, the opportunity for a scammer to impersonate someone in your company has never been higher.
The survey found that around a third of respondents have been the victim of a phishing email since the Covid-19 lockdown began, and 45% of phishing attempts were coronavirus related. Some scammers have been impersonating HMRC and pretending to be getting in touch about a payment to be made, and others find the name of someone you work with and impersonate them.
Capterra's research shows that part of the problem is poor password management, with around a third of respondents using identical passwords in multiple locations and many employees sharding passwords with colleagues over unsecure communication platforms. It also noted a lack of separation between personal and business accounts as a significant problem.
Source: Written based on press release
