Cyber criminals have a reputation for constantly coming up with new ways to scam us into handing over login details or sensitive data.

And while you might think your team would spot an attempted attack, you could be surprised. We’ve seen a lot of intelligent people – including many business leaders – caught out over the years.

One of the latest scams is very retro… and that seems to be why people are falling for it.

Cyber criminals have gone back to basics. They’re sending USB drives in the mail.

The packaging and branding on the drives suggests they’re from Microsoft (they’re not).

The story is there’s an updated version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus on the drive and it needs to be installed right away.

Of course, this is a complete lie. Microsoft has confirmed that these packages aren’t genuine. It’s warning people it would never send out unsolicited packages.

If you plug the drive into your computer, it will detect a “virus” and ask you to call a support line.

The scammers at the other end will pretend to remove the virus, gaining your trust. And then they’ll ask for payment details to help complete your subscription setup.

It’s old fashioned, but we can see how the mixture of the physical USB, the belief it’s from Microsoft and the fake support line would be compelling for someone who’s busy and just wants to get back to work.

We’re expecting elaborate, clever attacks through our email. Our guard is down with this mix of events.

Play it safe and warn everyone in your business about this scam.

This is also a good time to review the software and staff training you use to protect your business.

You need the right combination of the two… we can help with that. Get in touch.

Published with permission from Your Tech Updates.