Holiday scams: What happened to one New Jersey worker

Sometimes it gets tiring hearing about the online scams that are out there. But the truth is, the scammers want you to get sick of it. That means you're more likely to let your guard down, and thus, giving them and easier way to steal your information.

And with the holiday season now here, those scammers will be out in full force. It's an unfortunate reality of the digital age we now live in.

My neighbor was just telling me about an incident that happened with her. She works for a big New Jersey company and recently fell for one of these scammer tricks (for privacy and protection, I'm not going to mention my neighbor or her companies name).

Although she didn't specifically get in trouble, her actions of unknowingly opening the link on this email forced the companies IT and security teams to go into overdrive to shut down the network and to safeguard it from the threat.

Luckily, the companies quick actions prevented any info from being compromised, according to my neighbor.

How it unfolded

Here's how this came up. I was talking to my neighbor when a scam text hit my phone. I mentioned that, which is how the issue with her company got brought up. And I have to say, I knew exactly what she was talking about because I've received the very same kind of emails.

It was a very official looking email simply saying her boss was trying to reach her in Teams. Her mistake? She clicked on the link inside the email to read the message.

Luckily, her IT Department has some sort of setup that caught that error fairly quicky which saved any info from being compromised (from what she was told at least). My neighbor didn't realize it until after it was too late.

What to look for

It's unfortunate, but this type of scam has been on the rise, and it's important to know what to look for. The easiest? Look at the senders email address.

Oftentimes they'll be dashes or periods in places they normally wouldn't be, or zeros replaced by O's. Since every company is different, it's really tough to say what to specifically look out for when it comes to your place of business other than if it doesn't look right, don't click it.

Another thing to look for is spelling errors, which is more common than you may realize in spam emails. Also ask yourself, does my coworker or boss normally contact me in this manner?

Looks legit

Seriously, these emails look legit which is why it's easy to get fooled by them. If you're ever unsure, talk to your boss or coworkers directly before clicking any links.

I can't speak for other states, but I do know companies in New Jersey have been getting hit throughout the year. Please really look at those company emails that seem like one-offs and make sure they're legit before opening anything.

Especially now with the holidays here, when scammers are banking on that you'll put your guard down.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.