Watch Out For These Fraud Warning Signs
9/20/2023
Your business is booming – but it’s still at risk of cybercrime, theft and other scams. Are there warning signs you can be on the lookout for to mitigate risk to your sensitive data?
Pay attention to anything that seems out of the ordinary such as:
Read more: How to Start Cybersecurity Training for Employees
Your business data is possibly your most valuable asset. Imagine if all the information on your computers, laptops, software and devices was wiped clean, either by mistake or by a malicious attack. Data protection best practices include:
Pay attention to anything that seems out of the ordinary such as:
- Large, unusual transactions from unknown buyers;
- Payment with many different credit cards;
- Rush orders or any type of unusual urgency from a customer;
- A high volume of transactions in a short period of time; or
- A customer orders small amounts and pays on time (building trust), then places a very large order (which they don’t intend to pay for).
How can I prevent fraud as part of daily operations?
Educate your team
Provide training and regular updates to help your team identify online business scams and spot suspicious transactions. Make sure your team is aware of the consequences of fraud. Customers could be heavily impacted as they won’t have access to funds for an extended period of time, and your business could be liable for purchases made on a compromised card.Read more: How to Start Cybersecurity Training for Employees
Take care of your data
Your business data is possibly your most valuable asset. Imagine if all the information on your computers, laptops, software and devices was wiped clean, either by mistake or by a malicious attack. Data protection best practices include:
- Only hold customer data you need. The more information you hold, the higher your security risk.
- Regularly back up data and store it securely offline. You can then restore your data if it’s lost, leaked or stolen.
- Set up logs to record all the actions people take on your website or server, including alerts to notify you if an unusual event occurs.
- Create an incident response plan to help you get your business back up and running quickly if your business is targeted by cyberattack. Talk to your staff about the plan ahead of time.
- Select a cloud services provider who will provide the right services for your business. Check their data and security policies. Ask if they’ll do backups and if they offer two-factor authentication.
Verify that your internal systems are well-managed
Part of protecting your business is implementing mandatory security procedures. Protocol to consider requiring includes:- Using two-factor authentication for anyone who logs in to your system.
- Changing default passwords and checking for default passwords on any new hardware or software. If you find any default credentials, change the passwords.
- Not using security question answers like pets names, as they can be easy for an attacker to find out. Choose novel answers that aren’t necessarily real.
- Creating unique passwords for each account, so if an attacker gets hold of one of your passwords, they can’t get access to all of your other accounts.
- Being smart with social media. What you and your employees post on social media can give cyber criminals information that they can use against you. Set your privacy so only friends and family can see your details.
- Configuring network devices like firewalls and web proxies to secure and control connections in and out of your business network. Use a VPN that uses two-factor authentication if you need to remotely access systems on your network.
