OKLAHOMA CITY – Today, employees of Paycom Software, Inc. presented the Project AWARE Foundation with an employee- and employer-combined donation of $11,000. During one of TV’s most popular weeks celebrating sharks, employees raised funds during Paycom’s inaugural phishing awareness challenge through cash donations and a five-day phishing email simulation. Project AWARE is a registered nonprofit dedicated to shark conservation.
Paycom’s phishing challenge ran internally from July 23 to July 27. Employees individually volunteered to receive one simulated phishing email per day. For each employee, one point was gained for recognizing the phishing simulation and reporting it to the IT department, while two points were deducted for “taking the bait,” as in clicking the simulated phishing links or downloading the attachments.
Paycom donated $1 to Project AWARE for every point earned. At the end of the week, the department with the highest average of points received bragging rights and a free lunch.