Cyber criminals are taking advantage of employees working from home. Reminding employees to be vigilant and to think before they click is essential for preventing a breach. The following is an email template your team can use to remind employees to be aware:

Dear Employees,

As we are all working remotely, our customers, clients, partners, and vendors are settling into new work environments as well. That means change and lots of it. Technology deployments and scaling are happening all across the landscape. With new technology comes opportunities for confusion which hackers/spammers/phishers prey upon. Don’t fear, but please be aware.

I’m asking that you keep these things items in mind:

  • “Am I expecting this document/email/link from this person?” – Feel free to forward anything to [the help desk, etc.] and we can help dissect the email. We are seeing a good amount of account breaches already. They may look to come from a legit source.
  • STOP and don’t enter your [website / platform] credentials into anything unfamiliar/non-[platform]. – Reach out to [the help desk, etc.] if you have any off feeling about it. Trust your gut.
  • You can always check something phishy –  Send [the help desk, etc.] an email; we are more than happy to quickly look at and advise when there are things “you just aren’t sure of.”
  • Nobody is asking you to buy gift cards during all this.  – Just don’t
  • Pick up the phone and call – Consider picking up the phone and calling the individual, client, or vendor. Do not use the phone number on the email. Look up the individual or business and call to verify.