Phishing and cyber extortion: Protecting your credit union in the digital age

October has been recognized as Cybersecurity Awareness Month since 2004. This month serves as an annual reminder about the importance of cybersecurity and protecting your employees and credit union from online threats.

In today’s increasingly digital world, cyber threats have evolved into sophisticated schemes designed to exploit people, as well as technology. Chief among these, phishing and cyber extortion have become prevalent tactics used by cybercriminals to steal sensitive information or extort money. Understanding how to detect these threats is crucial to safeguarding personal and financial information, in order to protect your employees and credit union. Quickly identifying phishing attempts and recognizing the signs of cyber extortion is key to staying safe.

Understanding Phishing

Phishing is a cyberattack in which criminals attempt to deceive individuals into revealing personal information, such as login credentials, credit card numbers or other sensitive data. Typically, this is done by masquerading as a trustworthy entity through email, text messages or even phone calls. Here are key indicators to detect phishing:

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