ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Any time you open your email, odds are there's something in there that just doesn't look right.
Thieves are often sending you something that imitates some of the most notable brands. The security experts at Check Point say LinkedIn, Microsoft, DHL, Amazon and Apple are the top five most imitated.
You might have spotted emails similar to these that look like they're the real deal but are malicious and an opportunity to launch malware and steal your sensitive information. With these increased phishing attempts, experts say thieves are getting more sophisticated.
“Within seconds of that, of that initial compromise, of you putting in your credentials,...they’re immediately scripting to log into about a thousand different websites and...if they get your email address management like your Gmail account and now they can redirect your emails and your authentication emails and your SMS and your two-factor authentication and they basically own you,” Check Point’s Pete Nicoletti explained.
He says your information starts somewhat cheap. It’s worth about $3 initially, but the more you share online, it can be worth more like $50 to hackers.
That's why they keep attempting to phish for your information because they can make money. It can take 15 to 20 hours of your time and even hundreds of dollars to try to get things back right after a hack, so he says it's better to be proactive to prevent it.