Phishing refers to a type of cybercrime in which criminals contact an individual or an organization, like a dental practice, to trick them into clicking on a link or providing sensitive and personal information. According to a survey, phishing was the most common cyberattack in 2021, as about 324 thousand people and businesses worldwide were the targets of different phishing attacks.

This blog discusses the types of phishing attacks targeted at dental practices.

Email Phishing

The most common type of phishing attack is email phishing. It refers to sending a file or link with malware through an email with a false domain name. The fake domain name mimics a popular company or business, pushing the employees of a dental office to open an email and download the file attached or click on the link. For instance, cybercriminals can send an email disguised as guidelines from the ADA (American Dental Association).

Spear Phishing

This phishing attack is also sent through email. But this is more elaborate than regular email phishing. This happens when cybercriminals manage to obtain some or all personal or business information about a dentist. They include these details in an email phishing attack to create a more personalized and convincing email with malware attached. Dental practices need to hire top-rated dental IT services to prevent all types of email phishing attacks.

Angler Phishing

This phishing type is relatively new to others, but dental IT services agree that it’s a huge risk to dental practices. In angler phishing, cybercriminals use social media platforms instead of email to send malicious links. Dental practitioners can get tricked into clicking on malicious links or downloading malware through tweets published from fake accounts or DMs received from cyber-criminals.

Two dentists checking a teeth x-ray on a desktop

It’s essential for dental practitioners to recognize fake emails, texts, or social media posts, to prevent cybercriminals from accessing their information. Foris IT Management provides IT security services for dental practices in Texas. Our IT support for dentists provides cybersecurity sessions to employees of dental clinics, discussing phishing and other cyberattacks and practices to avoid them. Additionally, our dental IT services administer the email of dental clinics, reducing the risk of email phishing attacks.

Get in touch with us and keep your dental practice safe from phishing attacks.