Zoom Impersonation a New Variant of Familiar Phishbait

Zoom-themed phishing attacks have spiked since the start of the pandemic, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns. Attackers adapted quickly earlier this year when a large portion of workers began operating remotely, and the phishers tailored their lures to exploit organizations’ dependence on video-conferencing platforms.

“Out of the blue, you receive an email, text, or social media message that includes Zoom’s logo and a message saying something like, ‘Your Zoom account has been suspended. Click here to reactivate.’ or ‘You missed a meeting, click here to see the details and reschedule,’” the BBB says. “You might even receive a message welcoming you to the platform and requesting you click on a link to activate your account. Scammers registered more than 2,449 Zoom-related domains from late April to early May this year alone. Con artists use these domain names, which include the word ‘Zoom,’ to send you an email that looks like it’s coming from the official video conferencing service.”

This finding isn’t surprising, since attackers always update their phishing lures to take advantage of ongoing trends and events. The BBB says users can defend themselves against new variations of phishing lures by following security best practices:

• “Double check the sender’s information. Zoom.com and Zoom.us are the only official domains for Zoom. If an email comes from a similar looking domain that doesn’t quite match the official domain name, it’s probably a scam.
• “Never click on links in unsolicited emails. Phishing scams always involve getting an unsuspecting individual to click on a link or file sent in an email that will download dangerous malware onto their computer. If you get an unsolicited email and you aren’t sure who it really came from, never click on any links, files, or images it may contain.
• “Resolve issues directly. If you receive an email stating there is a problem with your account and you aren’t sure if it is legitimate, contact the company directly. Go to the official website by typing the name in your browser and find the ‘Contact Support’ feature to get help.”

New-school security awareness training can help your employees avoid falling for phishing scams by keeping them up-to-date with evolving phishing trends.

The Better Business Bureau has the story.