While most of us kick off the New Year focused on growth, goals, and maybe finally fixing that one recurring tech issue, cybercriminals are doing their own planning too.
They’re not setting intentions about mindfulness or balance.
They’re reviewing what worked last year and refining how they’ll steal more this year.
And in 2026, small and mid-sized businesses in Houston are firmly in their sights. Cybercrime targeting Houston small businesses is increasing as attackers focus on companies without a dedicated IT team.
Not because you’re careless, but because you’re busy.
Houston businesses move fast. Between oil & gas services, engineering firms, construction companies, professional services, and healthcare practices, there’s always a deadline, a client waiting, or a fire to put out. Cybercriminals know that. And they exploit it.
Here’s what their playbook looks like this year and how to shut it down before it costs you real money.
Smarter Phishing Emails Are the New Normal
The days of obviously fake scam emails are over.
Thanks to AI, phishing messages now sound professional, relevant, and eerily familiar. They reference real vendors, use your company’s tone, and arrive at exactly the wrong moment, when inboxes are full and people are distracted.
A modern phishing email doesn’t scream “scam.” It sounds reasonable:
“Hi Tina,
I tried sending the updated invoice, but the file bounced back. Can you confirm this is still the correct email for accounting? I’ve attached the revised version.
Thanks,
[Actual Vendor Name]”
No urgency. No typos. No foreign prince.
Just timing, and trust.
January is prime season for this. Teams are catching up after the holidays, onboarding new employees, and racing to start the year strong. That’s when one click can quietly open the door.
What actually stops these attacks isn’t fear, it’s process. Houston businesses that avoid phishing losses use email security tools that flag impersonation attempts. And most importantly, train their teams to verify requests involving money, credentials, or sensitive data through a second channel—such as a known phone number or in-person confirmation. Create a culture where asking, “Can I double-check this?” is encouraged, not criticized.
Vendor and Executive Impersonation Is Costing Businesses Thousands
One of the fastest-growing cybercrime tactics is impersonation, either pretending to be one of your vendors or someone inside your company.
A vendor “updates” their banking details.
A CEO “needs a wire sent immediately.”
A controller gets a message that looks exactly like it came from leadership.
Sometimes it’s not even email anymore.
Voice deepfakes are becoming alarmingly realistic and far easier to execute than most business owners realize. Criminals can clone a voice using public videos, podcasts, or voicemail greetings. To the person on the receiving end, it genuinely sounds like their boss asking for a quick favor.
This isn’t science fiction. It’s already happening to businesses across Texas. We’re seeing these attacks hit Houston-area companies of all sizes, especially those with lean accounting and operations teams.
The companies that avoid wire fraud losses follow boring, but effective, rules: no banking changes without a callback to a known number, no payment approvals without verification, and multi-factor authentication on every finance and administrative account. Even if a password is stolen, it’s useless without that second form of authentication.
Small Businesses Are the Primary Target Now
For years, cyberattacks focused on big-name companies. Banks. Hospitals. Enterprises with deep pockets.
That changed.
Enterprise security improved. Insurance requirements have been tightened. Attacks became harder and riskier. So, criminals adjusted.
Instead of going after one massive target, they now focus on volume, many smaller businesses with weaker defenses. A $40,000 or $60,000 loss may not make the news, but it’s devastating for the business that experiences it.
Houston SMBs are especially attractive because many assume they’re “too small” to be worth the effort, an assumption attackers actively rely on. In reality, that belief is often the biggest vulnerability. In a city as economically active as Houston, cybercriminals know there’s steady cash flow, frequent vendor payments, and complex project billing. All attractive targets.
Most attacks don’t require sophisticated hacking. They succeed because of missing basics: weak passwords, no MFA, outdated systems, or untested backups.
The good news? You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be harder to compromise than the business next door. Most attackers move on when they hit resistance.
New Hires and Tax Season Create the Perfect Storm for Cyberattacks
January brings fresh faces and fresh risk.
New employees don’t yet know your internal processes. They want to be helpful. They’re less likely to challenge authority. Cybercriminals know this and actively target them with impersonation and payroll scams.
Tax season adds another layer of chaos. Fake W-2 requests, fake payroll emails, and fraudulent IRS notices spike early in the year. One convincing message sent to HR or payroll can expose every employee’s Social Security number, address, and salary in minutes.
When that data is stolen, the damage spreads fast. Fraudulent tax returns get filed. Employees discover the problem when their legitimate filings are rejected. Trust erodes, and cleanup takes months.
Companies that avoid these scenarios build security into onboarding, document clear rules around sensitive data, and regularly reinforce them. They also reward employees who slow down and verify instead of rushing to respond.
Prevention Is Always Cheaper Than Recovery
Every business has two cybersecurity options.
You can react after something breaks, pay the ransom, call in emergency help, notify customers, rebuild systems, and repair your reputation. That path is expensive, stressful, and disruptive.
Or you can prevent the incident entirely. For most small businesses, cybersecurity isn’t about perfection, it’s about reducing risk and controlling costs before an incident forces your hand.
Prevention doesn’t mean paranoia. It means layered security, trained employees, ongoing monitoring, and systems that are patched before criminals find the holes.
No one buys a fire extinguisher after the fire.
They buy it because of downtime, liability, and lost trust cost far more than prevention ever will.
How Houston Businesses Stay Off the “Easy Target” List
A strong local Houston-based IT and cybersecurity partner helps businesses stay out of trouble by quietly handling the things that attackers count on you to overlook:
- Monitoring systems around the clock
- Locking down access so one stolen password doesn’t expose everything
- Training teams on modern, realistic scams
- Implementing verification policies that stop wire fraud
- Maintaining and testing backups so ransomware isn’t catastrophic
- Patching vulnerabilities before criminals exploit them
It’s fire prevention, not firefighting.
Make 2026 a Disappointment for Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals are optimistic about the year ahead. They’re counting on businesses being busy, understaffed, and underprepared.
Let’s ruin that plan.
If you’re a Houston-area small or mid-sized business, now is the perfect time to understand where your real risks are, and how to reduce them without overcomplicating your operations.
Book a New Year Security Reality Check.
No pressure or tech jargon. Just a clear, honest look at where you’re exposed and what matters most.
Book your 15-minute discovery call today.
Because the smartest New Year’s resolution you can make is ensuring your business isn’t someone else’s goal for 2026.
