---
title: Cybercriminals Have New Year’s Resolutions Too (And You’re On the List)
description: Cybercriminals are setting their goals for 2026, and SMBs are at the top of their target list. Modern attacks use realistic scamming techniques.
---

[blog ](https://www.atlantictechs.com/blog)

# [Cybercriminals Have New Year’s Resolutions Too (And You’re On the List)](https://www.atlantictechs.com/blog/cybersecurity/cybercriminals-have-new-years-resolutions-too-and-youre-on-the-list)

 Written by [Atlantic Technology Services](https://www.atlantictechs.com/blog/author/atlantic-technology-services) | Jan 12, 2026 8:12:01 PM

While you’re promising to drink more water and finally clean out your inbox, cybercriminals are setting goals of their own. **Spoiler: your business made the cut.**

Not because you’re sloppy but because you’re busy. And busy people click fast.

Here’s what’s on their 2026 vision board — and how to completely ruin it.

## “I will send phishing emails that don’t look sketchy anymore.”

The days of *“Dear Sir kindly send gift cards”* are over. *Now it’s: “Hey Susan, the invoice bounced back—can you confirm this is still the right email for accounting?”*

Normal. Polite. Dangerous.

**How to ruin it:**  
Double-check money and login requests another way. Use smart spam filters. And make it cool to say, “Hang on, I’m verifying this.”

## “I will pretend to be your vendor… or your boss.”

“New banking info.” ... “Urgent wire transfer.” ... Text from “the CEO.”

Sometimes even a phone call that sounds exactly like them (thanks, deepfake tech ).

**How to ruin it:**  
Call back using known numbers. Never move money based on one message. Turn on MFA everywhere.

## “I will go after small businesses.”

Big companies are hard. Small businesses are easier.

**Criminal math: **100 small wins > 1 big headache.

They know you’re juggling everything and thinking, “Why would anyone target us?”

That sentence is their favorite.

**How to ruin it:**  
Use the basics (updates, MFA, backups). Assume you *are* a target. Get backup that actually watches your systems.

## “I will take advantage of new hires and tax season.”

New employees want to help. Tax scams love payroll.

One fake email = every employee’s data gone.

Fun for criminals. Not for HR.

**How to ruin it:**  
Train new hires early. Make rules like “we never email W-2s.” Praise people for checking first.

# Prevention > Panic

You can:

Clean up after a cyber disaster  
or  
Prevent it quietly and never deal with the mess

One costs a fortune and your sanity. The other just takes planning.

# How to Completely Ruin a Hacker’s Year

A good IT partner helps you:

- Catch threats before they explode
- Lock down passwords and access
- Train your team on modern scams
- Add safety checks for payments
- Test backups
- Patch holes before criminals find them

Less chaos. More peace.

# Let’s Take You Off Their To-Do List

Book a **[New Year Security Reality Check](https://meetings.hubspot.com/sbrittingham/discovery-meeting)** and find out where you’re vulnerable (and how to fix it).

No fear tactics. No tech soup. Just straight answers.

[View full post](https://www.atlantictechs.com/blog/cybersecurity/cybercriminals-have-new-years-resolutions-too-and-youre-on-the-list)

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