This Phishing Tactic Needs To Be On Your Radar ( Reply Chain Attacks)

It is an open secret that phishing is the number one cause of malware infections. Similarly, Business Email Compromise occupies a glaring spot as the cause of organizations’ financial losses due to cyberattacks. 

The phishing and spear phishing attacks use a forged address to deceive unsuspecting individuals into disclosing important information. However, this is not the same as the reply chain attack, as it adopts a more sophisticated approach to carry out its actions. 

Between 2016 and 2021 there have been $43 billion in losses due to business email compromise fraud.

This technique, known as the email reply chain attack, is used by intelligent cybercriminals to insert a malicious link into email conversations. By so doing, non-observant participants will click on the link and fall victim to their wicked intentions.

This article will discuss how this works and how you can protect yourself from this phishing tactic.

How Does This Phishing Tactic Work?

The first step for scammers to succeed in this tactic is to hijack an email account. These criminals are ingenious and can only achieve this purpose in three ways. They include:

• A compromise
• A credential dumping
• Password spraying

These methods are sufficient for the hackers to gain access to the victim’s account. As soon as this happens, the hackers can monitor the email conversations of the victim and decide on the right time to take action. 

These fraudulent individuals do not immediately carry out their evil intent. They dedicate their time to monitoring the email conversation. Unfortunately, this often goes on unnoticed by any of the email participants. 

When the opportunity presents itself, the cybercriminal attaches malware to the ongoing conversation between participants. This technique is usually very effective because the email participants have already established trust. So, it is easy for the participants to believe the content of the email. 

Since the fraudster already understands the email conversations, it is simple to attach a malspam message that fits the context of the email. This increases the possibility of the victim opening the malicious link and giving out sensitive information.

The hacker takes a step further by ensuring that the victim is unaware of the activities in the email by receiving messages using an alternate inbox. In this way, the criminal uses the victim’s email client rules to redirect messages into another inbox that the victim will not likely suspect.

Another way the scammer tries to outsmart his victims is by having an account that keeps the victim in the dark. 

How Can You Protect Yourself From This Phishing Attack?

With how these fraudsters keep employing sophisticated methods to defraud unsuspecting individuals, it may seem impossible to stay away from their numerous ploys. The good news is that there are still numerous techniques that you can employ to stay protected at all times. Additionally, you can always request support from IT.

The first step you should take to stay protected from this phishing tactic is to devise a means of protecting your email account. Attackers use various means, such as alternate inboxing, to hijack your email account without your knowledge. 

For this purpose, you must do everything possible to secure your account from getting compromised. Ways you can do this are by using a strong password, two-factor authentication, and, most importantly, a password manager. 

However, this should not be limited to only you. It would help if you also informed your friends and colleagues to do the same as this will help to protect your circle and keep the fraudsters at bay.

The second step is to verify the information. This can be very tricky. Remember, the scammer understands your circle and has monitored your email conversations for a while. To outsmart the fraudster, always verify the authenticity of the message you receive from your colleagues. 

The fact that the message was sent from a colleague’s email does not necessarily mean that your colleague sent the message to you. As such, when you receive any message requesting personal information, contact your colleague and be sure that s/he sent the message to you.

You should also turn off your macros. When you get a message asking you to turn on your Microsoft Office macros, please ignore it. Microsoft Office macro is vulnerable to malicious activities. 

Request an Email Security Audit Today

Cybercriminals are getting smarter by the day. You can outsmart them by practicing the essential security tips to keep your device protected and far from their grasp. While you must update all your applications as this can strengthen your defense mechanism, you must also follow the basic steps to counter their phishing tactics.

Perhaps, you have done all you could to overcome their attacks, but none seem to work. Well, it is time you consulted professionals in the field. We have the right services to help you stay protected from fraudulent activities. You can contact us online or by phone at 423-467-7777.