Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Staying Vigilant in a Digital World

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and at Kanokla, we’re taking this time to highlight something that impacts us all—the growing sophistication of scams.

In recent weeks, our customer service team has noticed a spike in unusual phone calls. These aren’t typical service inquiries. Some callers are asking questions about our employees, attempting to “verify” names or job roles. Others seem to be testing our responses, possibly laying the groundwork for a future scam.

In one recent incident, a live caller claimed to report a Kanokla employee for “bad behavior and illegal activity.” While it sounded serious, our team quickly confirmed that the accusation was false—and that the call itself was part of a phishing attempt. Scammers often use emotional triggers like urgency or accusation to manipulate people into revealing information or taking action before they think.

Unfortunately, these tactics aren’t limited to phone calls. Some of our own employees have received text messages pretending to be from our CEO, Jill Kuehny. The messages were crafted to look legitimate, using friendly language and a sense of urgency. This type of scam, known as “CEO impersonation,” is becoming increasingly common in businesses of all sizes.

We have also had instances of calls and emails to our HR department.

How Kanokla Protects Our People and Our Communities

We want our customers to know that we take cybersecurity seriously. Our employees receive ongoing training on identifying and reporting suspicious messages, emails, and calls. Behind the scenes, our IT and Network Administration teams work tirelessly to keep both our internal systems and your customer data secure.

We know that cyber threats evolve constantly—but so does our commitment to staying ahead of them.

How You Can Stay Safe

While we’re doing our part, you play a critical role in keeping your own information secure. Here are a few easy ways to stay safe:

• If something feels off, hang up. Call the company back on their published number to verify the phone call. For example, if someone calls claiming to be from Kanokla it should show our 800-526-6552 or a local 845 number. Call us on our 800 number to verify, if you are unsure.

• Never share personal or account information with someone who contacts you unexpectedly.

• Check for secure websites before entering payment details—look for the lock icon and “https” in the address bar.

Pause before you act. Scammers count on quick emotional reactions. Take a moment to think before clicking or replying. It is becoming more and more common for scammers to use seemingly personal details about your life to make their scams seem more believable.