Why real email addresses should be hidden

If your email is publicly searchable, cybercriminals will find it—and target you. This morning, we analyzed a phishing attempt directed at an individual working in the defense sector. A quick Google search of her email revealed multiple academic papers and online mentions—information that made her an ideal target. Threat actors, including Nigerian groups we’re actively tracking, commonly use Google Dorks to identify potential victims. Once they find an email, they craft highly personalized phishing emails that significantly increase their success rate compared to broad "spray-and-pray" tactics. Despite the abundance of breached data on the dark web, open-source intelligence remains a preferred method for targeting. Why? Because it enables precision attacks with higher return. Actionable advice: Search your own email or phone number on Google. If it appears, request removal where possible. Even if removal isn’t an option, awareness of high-risk exposure allows for stronger protective measures. Stay vigilant. Stay secure. #CyberSecurity #PhishingAwareness #ThreatIntelligence #EmailSecurity #OSINT #DarkWebMonitoring #InfoSec #SpearPhishing #DataPrivacy #CyberThreats #OnlineSafety

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 5𝐱 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧 Cynthia Adanna Ugwuanyi🌿💚🌿 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. During our conversation, I shared some insights on how as individuals, we often become vulnerable and expose ourselves to cyber threats like phishing attacks and social engineering by what we share online. This includes giving out our emails and phone numbers when registering or signing up for something. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞? 𝐈𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲. With cyber threats on the rise, exposing your primary email and phone number online can make you a target for phishing, spam, and other malicious activities. 𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰? ◾ 85% 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 involve a human element, including phishing and credential theft (Source: Verizon 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report). ◾ 40% 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 have experienced an increase in spam or unwanted communications after their contact information was compromised (Source: Cisco 2023 Data Privacy Benchmark Study). One effective way to safeguard your personal information is by using a dummy email address and phone number for online registrations, subscriptions, and non-essential communications. By utilizing a dummy email and phone number, you can: ✅ Enhance your cybersecurity by reducing the exposure of your primary contact information. ✅ Protect your data privacy and avoid unwanted solicitations. ✅ Minimize the risk of phishing attacks that often originate from leaked contact details. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲! Set up a dummy email and phone number and start protecting your personal information. Do you use a dummy email or phone number? Share your experience and tips in the comments! 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐃𝐞𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧👨🏾💻 - Your shield against cyber threats #Cybersecurity #ThreatIntelligence #DeCyberGuardian #DataPrivacy #OnlineSafety #PhishingProtection #DigitalSecurity #Infosec #PrivacyMatters #CyberAware #CyberThreats #SecureYourData