“Tax season is phishing season, and cybercriminals are preying on unsuspecting taxpayers through a range of sophisticated phishing techniques that could put their personal and financial information at risk.” This according to Brian Pinnock, cybersecurity expert at Mimecast.
According to Mimecast, 53% of South African respondents in its latest research saw an increase in phishing attacks using malicious links or attachments over the past year.
“Email remains a highly attractive method of attack for cybercriminals, especially during periods – such as our current tax season – where consumers are likely to send and receive sensitive personal and financial information via email,” explains Pinnock. “What’s highly concerning is that 45% of South African respondents in our latest survey reported an increase in targeted spear-phishing attacks containing malicious links or attachments. Spear-phishing relies on social engineering, so it is well researched, highly targeted at the receiver and is difficult for an uneducated end-user to spot. And it’s not only individual taxpayers that are at risk: organisations with insufficient security and a lack of end-user awareness are easy targets for sophisticated attacks that could put their systems – and their data – at risk.”
