You Were Phished. What Happens Next?

Netflix, UPS, Facebook, your bank, and your power company are all companies that you receive emails from regularly. These are the companies that cyber attackers will use to send their phishing emails from to capture your personal information or to install malware on your device. These brands are sophisticated and believable. People click on these emails without thinking twice. Our job at Novatech is to educate our users on signs to look for that indicate the email is a phishing scam.

There are some proactive things you can look for to protect yourself from these attacks, and by working with Novatech for IT support, we have the systems and tools available to help keep these emails out of your inbox.

Steps to Take After a Phishing Scam

So, what do you do if you find yourself as part of a successful phishing email scam? Here are a few self-recovery steps to take to after clicking on a phishing email.

1. Disconnect Your Device: Disconnecting your device from the internet can help prevent the severity of the phishing attack. If you are connected using a wired connection, you can unplug the internet cable from your computer. If you are on wi-fi, go to your device wi-fi settings and disconnect. Disconnecting from the internet will help reduce the risk of a cyber attacker remotely accessing your device, prevent the malware from spreading to other devices on your network, and protect your information from being sent from your device.

2. Change Your Passwords: More than likely you clicked on an email link and it took you to a website that mimicked your bank account, or another service, and had you enter your user name and password. After noticing that it was a phishing scam, you need to go to the real sites for these services and change your password. Be sure to create strong, complicated passwords using a variety of characters and numbers. The more confusing the password, the less likely it is for a hacker to break it.

3. Notify the Company: Notify the company/organization that the phishing email came from. They will want to investigate the matter and make sure that others were not affected by the scam.

4. Scan Your Device for Viruses: To be safe, you should scan your device for viruses following a phishing email attack. Make sure all of your anti-virus software is up to date and run a full scan of your system.

5. Be Cautious of Identify Theft: If you believe that your information may have been exposed, be careful and on the lookout for any signs of identity theft.

6. Protect Yourself from Future Phishing Scams: Educate yourself on what to look for in future phishing attacks. provides IT support to small and medium sized businesses and can help train your staff to not to fall for any phishing emails.

The best way to avoid a phishing attack is to be aware of what to look for. Learn more about How to Prevent Scams, Phishing and Mis-Sent Emails. Novatech has the products and tools to help keep you and your staff educated on cyber threats and how to be prepared.  Call 770.569.4600 to learn more about how Novatech can help keep your company safe.