Ransomware isn’t as big a threat as these scams

Ransomware has gone corporate. These attacks, which hold files and PCs hostage until there’s a payout, may seem savage but behind the scenes, it’s civilized. The hackers have days that look a lot like any paper pusher’s — bosses to report to, tickets to track. And accordingly, the major organizations behind this kind of malware have refocused their attention. It’s not individuals they’re primarily focused on.

You and I just don’t have enough money for them. However, for a multitude of mom-and-pop scammers, we do.

That point became clear during the 2024 RSA Conference in San Francisco, where members of Microsoft’s security teams spoke with the press on cybersecurity topics, including the most current threats to everyday people. While you could still get caught up in a ransomware campaign, the main targets nowadays are companies big enough to pay multimillions but too small to have robust IT security teams.

Instead, Sherrod DeGrippo, director of threat intelligence strategy at Microsoft, says you should watch most for seemingly innocuous tricks that play on your emotions: romance schemes, influencer scams, banking hoaxes, and other such deviousness.

Romance scams, for example, involve gaining someone’s trust and affection, and then using the relationship to start asking for money.

Influencer scams twist people’s legitimate desire to earn a living into fronting money for opportunities that never pan out — and potentially expose the victims to identity theft if tax identification numbers and other personal details are shared.