HOG Networks

Sometimes, when you’re so focused on not getting caught out by an email scam, you forget that other types of scams exist 📧

And one that’s doing the rounds right now starts with a phone call 📞

Someone calls, sounding confident, maybe a little stressed, and says they can’t get into their account.

They might claim to be traveling, about to join a meeting, or locked out of something important.

They need a quick reset.

And that’s where the problem begins 😬

This is called “vishing” (voice phishing), and it’s being used to trick IT support into handing over access.

Attackers pretend to be senior staff and use real details pulled from places like LinkedIn to make their story believable.

In some cases, they’ll call multiple times, changing their voice or story until something works.

Meanwhile, the real person they’re impersonating is sitting at their desk, completely unaware.

Now, you might be thinking, “We don’t have an IT helpdesk, so this doesn’t apply to us.”

But every business has someone who becomes the default IT person.

The office manager. The ops lead. The business owner.

If someone calls saying “I can’t log in, can you help me reset this?”, that pressure to fix it quickly is what attackers rely on.

And once they get in, they don’t stop at one account 😱

They move across systems like Microsoft 365, email, file storage, and anything else connected.

And because this isn’t hacking in the traditional sense, no antivirus or firewall can protect you. They won’t stop a conversation.

The protection here is process.

Take a moment to verify who you’re speaking to. Don’t rush because something feels urgent. Set a simple rule that certain changes can’t be done on the spot without proper checks.

It might feel a bit over the top, but it isn’t. Better safe than sorry, eh?

👉 If someone called your business today asking for access help, would you know how to verify it’s really them?

You open your inbox, and there’s an email saying your photos are about to be deleted 😱

There’s a date, a warning, and a big button telling you to fix it.

That’s the kind of message that makes you stop what you’re doing and pay attention.

And if you use iCloud, you might be on the receiving end of a message like this.

Your panicked reaction is what these scam emails are designed to trigger 🚨

They usually say something has gone wrong with your account.

It might be that your storage is full, your payment has failed, or your account has been blocked.

Then they add pressure with a deadline and a quick way to “resolve” the problem.

But really, the link in the email is the problem.

It takes you to a page that looks very similar to Apple’s login screen, but it isn’t real.

If you enter your details, they go straight to the attacker.

From there, it can lead to access to your files, your email, and potentially other accounts if the same password is used elsewhere.

What makes this harder to spot is the timing.

These emails can arrive alongside genuine notifications about storage or billing, so nothing immediately feels out of place.

If you take a moment to look more closely, there are often small signs 👀

The sender address might not match Apple’s usual domain.

The wording can feel slightly off, and sometimes there are grammar mistakes that a large company wouldn’t normally make.

The safest way to handle this is not to use the link in the email at all.

If you’re unsure, go directly to your account through your device settings or by typing the official website into your browser.

That way you know you’re in the right place.

Many attacks now rely on persuasion rather than technical tricks. They’re built to create urgency and get a quick reaction.

Taking a few seconds to pause and check is often enough to avoid a much bigger problem.

And remind your team to do the same thing. Particularly on company devices.

👉 If you saw an email like this, would you recognize it as a scam right away?

Most businesses feel like they’d handle a cyberattack if it happened.

But that confidence often comes from assumptions rather than a clear plan.

If you had to recover quickly, contact the right people, and keep things running under pressure, would everything fall into place… or would you be figuring it out as you go?

Are you confident your cybersecurity would hold up if someone asked you about it?

It’s not something most business owners spend time thinking about.

It tends to come up in the moment. A client asks how their data is protected, a regulator wants more detail, or you hear about another business having a problem and it gets you wondering how you would respond.

That’s usually when a few important questions surface… and the answers aren’t always as clear as they should be.

Our latest guide looks at what “advanced cybersecurity” really means. It explains how expectations have changed, what good protection looks like now, and how to get a clearer understanding of where your business stands.

Download your free copy now.