Do You Like Spear Phishers?

I don't! They pretend to be ME while targeting YOU. I don't like them at all! You'll get an email from TECHNOLOGY DESK or IT HELPDESK asking you for personal information, it's probably not from me. If an IT staffer wants your information, we'll pick up the phone and call you. Spear phishers are bad. They pretend to be somebody in your company needing your information. Don't fall for them. Call whoever is sending you an email if you are suspicious about it. If technology is wanting to contact everyone in an organization, usually it is done from an email address you recognize; don't look at the name -- look at the email address. It probably doesn't end in yourcompany.com, but some generic email like yahoo or hotmail. That's a warning flag.

Be cautious when opening emails from people you don't know. If you need to do that for business, make sure you don't open their attachments without verifying their identities. If you absolutely know it's a phisher, like UK lottery scammers, don't reply because once they receive your email they know it's a valid email address and you'll be marked as a target for more emails.