How Can Email Phishing Impact Your Business?

The integrity of a business is vital to its existence, and when it is lost, it can take time to repair the damage. Sadly, that may be impossible when a business’s customers are harmed through email phishing scams. Data breaches due to email phishing are on the rise, and protecting your business from ID theft and credit damage in Florida is vital to a healthy business. 

What is Email Phishing?

Email phishing is a cyber tactic criminals use to fraudulently access information from a business. These social engineering attacks typically come in urgent emails and appear to be from legitimate companies. These emails are referred to as bait and can often send urgent requests for information or offering items such as:

• Account updates
• Log-in verification to detect suspicious activity
• Fake invoices
• Payment requests
• Updates to customer accounts
• Offer governmental refunds
• Coupon offerings

Through these emails, cybercriminals hope to gain access to company data by directing the target to a website containing malware and gaining access to the business’s credentials. Credit card information, business data, client email lists, and other valuable information can be captured with a few keystrokes. This deceptive practice is just one of the common internet fraud scams in Florida that businesses must be aware of.

Damage to Your Reputation

A business is responsible for securing the information of its clients. Regardless of their intent and previous service, a business’s reputation can suffer immensely after a data breach has impacted customer information. These breaches open companies up to the possibility of multiple lawsuits.

Not only can client information be lost, but cyber attackers may impersonate your business, sending out mass emails to your client or customer list, soliciting business, or requesting information under your name. If your clients take the bait, they will become the victims of the same scam.

Data Loss 

After the collection of your business’s information, it can also be destroyed, making it almost impossible to recover all the data. Data loss can significantly impact a business even with backup systems in place.

Customers are Lost

Customers become weary of continuing business with an organization after a data breach. Often, customers will move to other businesses offering the same services. Some customers and clients hesitate to conduct personal business online for some time.

Financial Loss

In addition to losing revenue from clients who have moved their business to other institutions, the revenue involved in detecting and containing a data breach can be financially detrimental. Smaller companies may be able to isolate and manage a breach more effectively. Larger corporations and businesses can take up to a year, with financial loss directly related to this timespan.

For example, the average time to locate and identify a breach in the U.S. healthcare industry was 255 days. Once the threat was discovered, it took an average of 103 days to contain the breach. The cost of a breach directly correlates with the financial impact on a business.

Phishing Scams Impact Productivity

From the cited example above, 255 days spent on the damages related to a data breach or any phishing scam result in less time accomplishing business. When phishing scams impact the systems of businesses, their systems must be taken offline for cleaning and reconfiguration, resulting in a loss of productivity for employees. Employees unable to work may seek more secure employment, with training costs for new employees also impacting a business.

Industry Fines

Fines for damages resulting from breaches caused by email phishing scams will depend on the type of work your business conducts. Violating regulatory requirements such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) can result in significant fines.

Theft of Intellectual Property

A business’s ideas, inventions, or creative expressions can be impacted by phishing. Compromised trade secrets and intellectual property can take away a business industry leader’s edge, creating vulnerabilities that diminish their uniqueness. Staying in the game while trying to repair phishing damage is often impossible.

A Rise in Phishing Attacks in Florida Prompts Concerns

The rise in phishing attacks in Florida, particularly spear phishing, has increased in recent years. Spear phishing is email phishing scams that appear to originate within a company, using tailored messages to target specific groups. Spear phishing emails can be challenging to recognize because of the detailed information and associated targets they include.

Other Types of Email Phishing That May Threaten Your Business

It’s almost as if the names of these cyber crimes originated from the Florida coast. Phishing and spear phishing are attacks that can impact a business. The final form of email phishing is called whaling.

These cyber-attacks are sent in the form of emails that appear to be from senior officials within a business that target other higher-ups or VIPs in a business. The name refers to using the big fish in a company to bait other vital players to gain access to critical information or finances. Regardless of the scam type, each can impact a business’s health and longevity. 

Florida Businesses Susceptible to the Impact of Phishing

Phishing can impact any business, but one of the industries recognized for the potential danger of phishing scams is the Florida Real Estate Industry. The real estate market is healthy in Florida, and scammers know that customers must respond quickly to secure real estate purchases, rentals, and leases. Fraud impacting Florida real estate to gain access to client information can easily be used by cybercriminals to send fraudulent wire requests and to initiate bank transactions, costing potential clients trying to secure a deal. 

Florida Email Phishing Impacts Local Businesses

Businesses have a duty to their customers, business associates, and employees to ensure protection from deceptive phishing practices. Cyber insurance protection, threat-sharing programs, intelligence products, and employee training can significantly stifle phishing and damage to customers.

Part of a protection plan should also include a team of dedicated Florida credit report error attorneys. Let Sharmin & Sharmin P.A. work with you to tackle threats to your business. Schedule a free consultation and connect with our team concerning email phishing scams.