TECHNOLOGY
PROTECT YOURSELF FROM
CYBERCRIME
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 | TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE 69
Recently, the Tampa Bay Trust
Company visited with Network
Security Engineer, Evan Lutz of
Blueshift Technologies to discuss
some of the most frequent and trending
issues among cyber hackers and how
to deal with them. Too often we hear of
friends and family who have been the
victim of cybercrime.
Evan explained that a few tactics are
among the most common scams to which
victims fall prey:
• Phishing emails are designed to
compromise a person’s email, whereby if
you “take the bait” by responding, opening
an attachment, or clicking on a link, they
will pursue you further.
• Smishing is the same as phishing – except
by text. The scammer’s goal in both cases
is to gain more and more access to your
identity and your money.
• Credential Phishing is where the user
clicks on a fraudulent link that looks
legitimate, such as a message from
Microsoft. The email address will not
be precisely correct, and the home page
looks close to what you would expect,
so the scammer hopes you won’t notice.
If you enter your login and password to
the fake Microsoft home page, hackers
now have your “login credentials” and
can manipulate your computer and gain
sensitive information.
• Gift Cards are popular among con artists.
They ask the user to purchase a gift card to
pay a bill, fee, some other debt or obligation
or even claim a prize. The request comes
from a scammer impersonating someone
you know or an organization you consider
a credible source. Don’t believe it! You will
never be contacted and asked to pay for
anything with gift cards. Whether you are
contacted by text, email or a phone call –
end the connection and don’t click on any
links. Then BLOCK the sender.
• Social Media give scammers a plethora
of your personal information. Much of
what you put on social media can be used
against you by a scammer. For instance,
By Louis N. Pappas
Family Office Services
they are watching for hints to your security
questions which may include the name of
a pet, children or grandchildren, hobby,
name of school, etc. They also use social
media simply to gather information like
this to impersonate you in order to trick
someone you know, as explained above
in the “Gift Card” scam.
What top three steps can you take to
prevent criminals from gaining access to
your data?
1) Use a reliable password management
tool. There are several available such as,
LastPass, NordPass, Keeper and others.
So many people use the same or similar
passwords for all their online access, which
is easy for hackers to break. “Using a
password management tool significantly
reduces risk and is much more convenient.
It is cloud-based (not on your hard drive)
and houses all of your passwords in one
place, and you should enable the twofactor
authentication, so only you can
access it,” Evan said. He also cautions his
clients against keeping a physical list that
can be lost, which could be catastrophic.
2) Have good protection: Keep your
antivirus and malware up to date.
3) Limit and be particular about your
exposure and activity on social media, as
mentioned above.
Is one type of device more susceptible
to cybercrime than another?
The issue is the age of your device rather
than the type. Tablets and cell phones that
are 10 years old or more are considered at
“end of life.” They may still work but are
vulnerable to viruses and hacking because
their developers will “sunset” an outdated
device and no longer create fixes for it.
What are the first steps to take to mitigate
damage if you have been the victim of a
cybercrime?
Change your passwords and logins
immediately. Contact your local law
enforcement’s fraud division. Contact
your financial institutions and credit card
companies and inquire about freezing your
credit through the major credit bureaus of
TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, so no
one can open accounts or credit cards in
your name.
Additionally, it can be reassuring to
have a trusted Information Technology
(IT) manager among your contacts to assist
you as needed for situations like this. He
or she can help bring your computer or
device back to normal status. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: Louis N. Pappas is a family
offices services adviser with the Tampa Bay
Trust Company, a division of The Sanibel
Captiva Trust Company of Sanibel, Florida,
an independent firm with $3 billion in assets
under management that provides family office
and wealth management services, including
investment management, trust administration
and financial counsel to high net worth
individuals, families, businesses, foundations
and endowments. Tampa Bay area offices are
in Tampa, Belleair-Clearwater and Tarpon
Springs, (813) 915-6202 or (888) 660-1976,
tampabaytrustcompany.com.
Louis N. Pappas
/tampabaytrustcompany.com