Do Not Fall for This Convincing Phishing Email  

As you probably well know by now, cybercrime is a massive issue globally. The urgent shift to a work from home model during the COVID pandemic weakened the security posture of many organizations. Now, it is up to employers to educate their staff on how to spot a cyberattack before it is too late.  

To that end, we want to bring a popular phishing scam to your immediate attention. This scam asserts that your company has committed some type of copyright infringement. You are prompted to click on a link to confirm whether the digital asset was illegally obtained. This link then deploys a virus which could lead to network-wide data encryption or even ransomware.   

Photo of a man's finger clicking a copyright infringement key on a computer keyboard

The reason this attack is so compelling is because, in our day and age, every business relies on content. You require images to populate your social media pages, website, emails, etc. Pulling photos directly from the internet or procuring them in another way without paying for them is against the law.    

Ethical business managers would never commit copyright infringement on purpose. Sometimes it can be confusing as to whether you outright own an image or not. Because of these reasons, the copyright infringement scam becomes particularly dangerous as it can elicit an emotional response.   

Leaders often panic when they receive a threatening email claiming they did something illegal. They are very likely to click on the provided link to confirm or deny the claim. The concept to remember here is that cybercriminals are very clever. They prey on a users’ vulnerabilities and some even go so far as to research their victims ahead of time.   

How We Survived the Copyright Infringement Scam  

Our company, NOYNIM IT Solutions, recently received one of these phishing emails. In our case, our Marketing Director was targeted. She was posting to LinkedIn all summer about working on our new website. Right after the site launch, we received this:  

Photo of a phishing scam email

Fortunately, our staff is required to participate in cybersecurity awareness trainings. Instead of immediately acting by clicking on the weblink, she asked a coworker for their opinion which was escalated to our technical team who confirmed that this was 100% a ransomware phishing attack.    

Hackers have become very strategic in their methods. In this case, they knew that NOYNIM had just launched a new website and copyright infringement could have been perceived as a real threat.  The moral of the story is that no company is exempt from phishing attacks. Your best line of defense against a cyberattacks is employee knowledge.    

One of the best ways to educate your staff is through cybersecurity awareness trainings. These trainings include modules that walk your employees through real-life phishing scenarios. Then, your staff is tested on their knowledge by receiving fake phishing emails. You can see who still needs additional training and make sure they get up to speed. If you are interested in scheduling a training, please reach out to us.  

We learned that fake copyright infringement is in fact a very popular phishing tactic especially when a company launches a new website. Here are some examples of what these types of messages look like. Please feel free to share with your staff, family & friends.    


NOYNIM IT Solutions 

At NOYNIM, we can help you identify which cybersecurity services are necessary for your business, given IT security & cybersecurity services vary in scope depending on client requirements. The best security strategy for your business will leverage all relevant services to create multi-layered protection against ransomware & other cyberthreats.  

To learn more, we encourage you to read our post Should Your Company Consider Managed Cybersecurity ServicesIn short, engaging with a managed cybersecurity provider is a wise investment for savvy business leaders. At NOYNIM, our staff is comprised of seasoned IT professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines.  

We recruit IT engineers with strong technical expertise, many of whom were previously employed at Fortune 500 companies. Our team has experience managing a wide variety of IT environments. From IT for small businesses to complex large corporations, we offer custom IT solutions that align with your business goals. We can also help develop a Business Continuity Plan in case your business does encounter a disaster.  

Our clients experience friendly interactions, deep expertise, superior response times, and reliable service from our expert-level certified team of engineers. We understand that outsourcing your IT is a big decision. That is why we focus on establishing a highly personalized, responsive & collaborative partnership. Together, we create an IT strategy that fuels your business goals with an emphasis on keeping your network secure.  

Follow our blog and LinkedIn for more relevant cybersecurity tips and cybersecurity best practices.   


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We're happy to answer any questions you may have, feel free to call us at
(720) 524-8616