January 26, 2026
Somewhere right now, a cybercriminal is setting New Year's resolutions too.
They're not staring at a vision board about self-care or work-life balance.
They're reviewing what worked in 2025 and planning how to steal more in 2026.
And guess what?
Small and mid-sized businesses across Virginia are their favorite target.
Not because you're careless.
Because you're busy.
And criminals love busy.
Here's their 2026 game plan, and how to ruin it.
Resolution #1: "I Will Send Phishing Emails That Don't Look Fake Anymore"
The era of laughably bad scam emails is over.
AI now writes messages that:
• Sound completely normal
• Use your company's language
• Reference vendors you actually work with
• Blend seamlessly into everyday business communication
This is especially effective in industries like law, insurance, accounting,
and healthcare, where invoices, document requests, and vendor emails are
constant.
And January is perfect timing.
Teams across Richmond, Henrico, and Chesterfield are catching up from the
holidays, onboarding new staff, closing year-end books, and moving fast.
Here's what a modern phishing email looks like:
"Hi [your actual name], I tried to send the updated invoice but the file
bounced back. Can you confirm this is still the right email for accounting?
Here's the new version. Thanks, [name of a real vendor you use]."
No Nigerian prince.
No urgent wire transfer.
Just a normal-sounding request at a busy moment.
Your counter-move:
• Train teams to verify, not just read, especially for finance, admin, and
legal staff
• Use email security that flags impersonation attempts and look-alike domains
• Normalize verification so "I double-checked" is praised, not questioned
Resolution #2: "I Will Impersonate Your Vendors… or Your Boss"
This one works because it feels personal.
A vendor email arrives asking to update ACH details.
A text comes in from "the CEO" asking for an urgent payment.
In Richmond-area businesses, especially insurance agencies, law firms, and
manufacturers, these messages often land with bookkeepers, office managers, or
administrators who are trying to keep things moving.
It's not just email anymore.
Voice-cloning scams are rising, using audio pulled from LinkedIn videos,
webinars, or voicemail greetings. The call sounds right. The timing feels
right. The request feels plausible.
That's not science fiction. That's happening now.
Your counter-move:
• Enforce callback verification for any payment or banking changes
• Never approve financial changes from text or email alone
• Require MFA on all finance, admin, and executive accounts
Resolution #3: "I Will Target Small Businesses Harder Than Ever"
Big companies hardened their defenses.
Insurance requirements got stricter.
Enterprise security got expensive.
So attackers adapted.
Instead of one risky, high-profile attack, they now prefer dozens of smaller
ones. Law firms, healthcare practices, manufacturers, professional services
firms, and insurance agencies across Central Virginia are prime targets.
Why?
• Valuable data
• Limited internal IT staff
• No dedicated security team
• The belief that "we're too small to be worth it"
That belief is their favorite vulnerability.
Your counter-move:
• Implement baseline protections like MFA, patching, and tested backups
• Remove "we're too small to be a target" from your vocabulary
• Use professional monitoring instead of hoping nothing happens
Resolution #4: "I Will Exploit New Employee Season and Tax Chaos"
January means onboarding.
New hires are eager. Helpful. Unfamiliar with internal rules.
Attackers know this.
They impersonate executives, HR, or payroll and target the newest person who
hasn't yet learned when to slow down and verify.
Tax season makes it worse.
Fake W-2 requests, payroll phishing, and IRS impersonation scams spike early
in the year. Once those forms are stolen, employees across your organization
face identity theft and fraudulent tax filings.
Many Virginia businesses only discover the breach when employees' tax
returns are rejected.
Your counter-move:
• Include security training in onboarding, before email access is granted
• Document rules like "We never send W-2s via email"
• Reward employees who verify instead of rushing
Preventable Beats Recoverable. Every Time.
Cybersecurity comes down to two options.
Option A: React after the attack.
Emergency IT help. Downtime. Client notifications. Reputational damage.
Six-figure recovery costs.
Option B: Prevent the attack.
Monitoring. Training. Policies. Backups. Quiet systems that just work.
Prevention is boring.
Recovery is not.
How to Ruin Their Year
A good IT partner keeps your business off the easy-target list by:
• Monitoring systems 24/7
• Locking down access so one stolen password doesn't open everything
• Training teams on realistic scams, not outdated ones
• Enforcing verification for payments and data requests
• Maintaining and testing backups so ransomware isn't existential
• Patching before vulnerabilities are exploited
That's fire prevention, not firefighting.
Take Your Business Off Their Target List
Cybercriminals are optimistic about 2026.
They're counting on businesses across Richmond and Central Virginia to be busy,
understaffed, and unprotected.
Let's disappoint them.
Book a New Year Security Reality Check.
In 15 minutes, we'll show you where you're exposed, what matters most, and
how to stop being low-hanging fruit.
No scare tactics.
No jargon.
Just clarity.
Because the best New Year's resolution is making sure you're not on someone else's list of goals.
