Cybercriminals frequently target businesses and individuals using emails that appear to be from a genuine bank, government agency or organization. The sender of these emails instructs recipients to click on a link that leads to a page to validate personal information, account information and other types of data. Except for a few smaller businesses, most organizations will have a private email domain and company-associated accounts.
Using public email accounts for correspondence may seem like a risk-free method to do transactions, but this introduces more vulnerabilities. A hacker may successfully intercept messages if one transmits sensitive or confidential information over a public email account. The victim could even discover that communication contains a virus or malware.
Hackers continue to target public email networks because the degree of protection does not correspond to private business email accounts. Spammers frequently utilize public domains for sender addresses; the domain reputation for these domains is typically low. Public email services that spammers and cybercriminals use are generally free.
When a person gets an email, one of the first things to look at is whether the email extension is from gmail.com, outlook.com, yahoo.com or some other official email domain. The sender’s name may be faked in public domain emails. The sender looks familiar, such as a coworker or a company representative, but the email address is different. The “spear phishing” strategy comprises a fictitious firm name (impersonation) and critical facts about the target. A representative finds the name, position and other customization in sales and incorporates such details in a pitch email. Consider the public address to be a temporary address. Spammers are likely to quickly obtain a public address, particularly if regularly used on the internet.
Tips: Companies and legitimate businesses usually house a private domain to communicate with customers and employees. Hover the cursor over the “from” address to confirm the email address and then cross-check the website the official email address and domain used.