Your Vacation Auto-Reply Could Be An Invitation For Cybercriminals

You set it, forget it, and just like that—while you’re getting ready to leave town—your email starts sending out messages like:

“Hello! I’m currently away from the office until [date]. For urgent issues, please reach out to [coworker’s name and email].”

Seems harmless, right? Maybe even helpful.

But to cybercriminals, it’s exactly the kind of message they’re hoping to see.

What was intended as a polite heads-up or a simple courtesy can actually offer valuable clues to anyone with malicious intent. That auto-response? It might just hand attackers everything they need to make their next move.

Let’s take a closer look. A standard out-of-office message often includes:

• Your full name and job title
• The timeframe during which you’ll be unavailable
• Backup contacts, often with their email addresses
• Insights into internal reporting lines or team setup
• Even where you are or what you’re doing (“Attending a conference in Chicago…”)

This gives cybercriminals two distinct advantages:

1. Timing: They now have confirmation that you’re away and less likely to notice any suspicious actions.
2. Targeting: They gain insight into whom they should impersonate and who is vulnerable to their attack.

This creates the perfect conditions for a phishing attempt or a business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

How The Attack Typically Unfolds

Step 1: Your automatic out-of-office reply goes out.

Step 2: A hacker takes advantage of this and pretends to be you or someone listed as an alternative contact.

Step 3: They send an "urgent" email requesting a wire transfer, login credentials, or a confidential document.

Step 4: A colleague, unprepared for the request, assumes it’s genuine.

Step 5: You return from vacation only to discover that $45,000 has been sent to “a vendor.”

This type of attack is more common than you might realize, and it poses an even greater risk for businesses with employees who travel frequently.

If your company has team members, especially executives or sales personnel, who are often on the move, and someone else manages communications in their absence (like an executive assistant or office administrator), it sets the perfect stage for cybercriminals:

• The administrator is managing emails from multiple sources
• They’re accustomed to processing payments, handling sensitive documents, or responding to urgent requests
• They’re working quickly, trusting the individuals they believe they’re communicating with

A single well-crafted fraudulent email can easily go unnoticed — and before you know it, your business is facing a serious breach or a costly fraud situation.

How To Safeguard Your Business Against Auto-Reply Exploits

The answer isn’t to eliminate out-of-office responses altogether — it’s about using them thoughtfully and implementing protective measures. Here are some practical steps:

1. Keep It General
   
   Avoid sharing too many specifics. Don’t list a backup contact unless it's absolutely necessary.
   
   Example: “I’m currently away from the office and will get back to you as soon as I return. For urgent matters, please reach out to our main office at [contact info].”
2. Educate Your Team
   
   Ensure your staff understands:
   
   
   • Never act on urgent requests related to money or confidential information based solely on email communication.
   • Always confirm suspicious requests through an alternative method, such as a phone call.
3. Use Email Security Tools
   
   Deploy robust email filtering systems, anti-spoofing protocols, and domain protection to reduce the chances of impersonation emails reaching your inbox.
4. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
   
   Activate MFA on all email accounts. Even if a hacker obtains a password, MFA will block them from gaining access.
5. Partner With An IT Team That Proactively Monitors Activity
   
   Working with a proactive IT team that monitors activity can help detect phishing attempts, suspicious login attempts, and abnormal behavior before any damage occurs.

Ready To Vacation Without Putting Your Business At Risk?

We help businesses build rock-solid cybersecurity systems that stay vigilant — even when your team is out of office.

Click Here To Schedule A FREE IT Systems Assessment.

We’ll scan for vulnerabilities, highlight hidden risks, and show you exactly how to secure your infrastructure — so you can take that vacation with confidence, not concern.