Fake QuickBooks Scam

Cyber threats commonly target finance and administrative employees. As the gatekeepers of most businesses’ financials, they are a prime target for hackers. A new malware circulating does just that – it targets the users of Intuit QuickBooks – one of North America’s most popular accounting software programs. In this blog post, we will outline how it works and how to protect your business from being successfully attacked.   
 
How it Works 
 
Upon opening QuickBooks the user will be unable to open a QuickBooks file and will receive a popup message instructing them to call a telephone number that appears to be from Intuit Technical Support. Upon calling the fake Intuit QuickBooks number, the support specialist on the telephone will try to sell a service to “repair” the files for prices ranging from $800 to $2000. If granted access, the malicious actor initiates a remote session on the victim’s machine to potentially perform further actions, such as stealing confidential information and planting backdoors for future access. 

Preventing Malware Requires a Multi-layered Solution 
 
The best approach to cybersecurity is a multi-layered one that includes using a next generation antivirus, an Extended Detection & Response (XDR) solution and investing in ongoing employee Security Awareness Training. In this case, advanced cybersecurity tools would have performed proactive threat hunting across all client’s endpoints and flagged the incident. With adequate Security Awareness Training, the end user would have taken a couple extra steps 1) verified that the number provided was indeed the number of the vendor by quickly googling it or, calling the vendor directly and 2) reported the incident to their manager immediately. 
 
Reach out to us to learn more about our cybersecurity services or visit our website at: https://yournucleus.ca/services/cybersecurity-services/