With the recent pandemic still an ongoing worry, and threat to the whole world it has unfortunately made many people realize how much their business may be at risk of closure. The pandemic not only closed many small businesses that thrive on the high streets, or shopping malls, it has also proved that the bigger the business you have the harder you will fall. As the owner of a business no matter what the size of it, comes many responsibilities, from members of staff to your family, until the pandemic it may have never entered your mind what consequences you would face if you had to close it.
The devastation of the pandemic
The devastation has hit many people hard, globally, with many people trying to find ways to keep their company afloat. One of the ways people have tried to save their business or to create another source of income having lost their job is online work. New businesses have been popping up online every day, while the people that have a business already have focused on promoting their company online. When the pandemic hit, people became desperate, resulting in desperate ways to try to make money, even at the cost of other people's livelihoods. Scams, fake news, and fake companies are unfortunately appearing everywhere. Calls from strange numbers , text messages saying your paypal is now on hold and such like are all things that seem to be happening more and more.
Getting your business online successfully
When looking at an online business, unless you know and are aware of how to promote your business accurately, it will be a waste of your time and effort. Promoting your business to your local area in the pandemic is the best way and the most financially efficient way of why you should promote locally. Using a company that can protect your company in many ways, will always be the better team to hire, ensuring you are at the front of the traffic in a search, helping you to design visually attractive websites are all ways to push your business locally all while protecting it safely and securely. Payments online especially need protection so for example if you had to pay a company called Digitrio for online work, you need to know that the money is going to that company and if somehow it is intercepted you are not liable for that payment.
Importance of cybersecurity
Making sure your company has good cybersecurity now is more important than ever. With most people working online the scams and tricks are becoming more advanced. Targeting lonely or vulnerable people on social media is also a way in which people are getting tricked into handing over passwords, bank details, and other various important information. By keeping your business advertised locally it will cut out a lot of the countries that unfortunately scamming is in itself a huge business. Be careful what sites you are joining, making sure they are legitimate before creating passwords, and giving your bank card numbers over, and being aware of what emails you are receiving, is a way to stay safer.
How to recognize unusual behaviour, and how to deal with it
By having a local digital campaign, it is less likely that your business will be seen in other countries. Therefore if you receive a call from England, but live in New Zealand, and have only been selling your goods locally, someone asking for lost bank details will only ring alarm bells. Anything out of the ordinary should flag up when you are mainly only dealing with your local area. Bank statements will show exactly where your money is going and so will invoice, and the bank will flag up any unusual activity.
If you have hired someone to take care of your company, they will be in charge of setting it up, this will include taking care of everything at the beginning, other than your private passwords. Joining websites to help you to recognize online threats and cyber threats will help you in being able to recognize any activity that may not be you. Scammers are clever and somehow manage to trick information out of their target in the most unusual ways. It is what they do so if you are unsure about any phone calls, emails, or inboxes then ask the digital marketing company you have hired. Remember just because someone has asked you a question that you are unsure of does not mean you have to answer them immediately. If someone is very persistent in asking you the same question, it could be a scam.
Conclusion
Whatever the pandemic brought to your company, trying to make the best of the situation now is all that can be done in trying to build up your business. While lots of businesses have suffered in an unthinkable way, some have found a niche in the market locally and have thrived. Making the most of the opportunities that are available at this moment in time, is the only way to ensure your family may have a sustainable income.
Many homes have gone from two wages that were coming into the family home every month, to now only having one with sometimes no other possible help. Having spent savings that took years to build up, making sure what is left or trying to rebuild these savings should not be taken lightly, protecting everything you have worked so hard in achieving is what you need to secure.
Online Threat Alerts Security Tips
Pay the safest way
Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the goods or services or if the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly.
Guard your personal information
In any transaction you conduct, make sure to check with your state or local consumer protection agency and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to see if the seller, charity, company, or organization is credible. Be especially wary if the entity is unfamiliar to you. Always call the number found on a website’s contact information to make sure the number legitimately belongs to the entity you are dealing with.
Be careful of the information you share
Never give out your codes, passwords or personal information, unless you are sure of who you're dealing with
Know who you’re dealing with
Crooks pretending to be from companies you do business with may call or send an email, claiming they need to verify your personal information. Don’t provide your credit card or bank account number unless you are actually paying for something and know who you are sending payment to. Your social security number should not be necessary unless you are applying for credit. Be especially suspicious if someone claiming to be from a company with whom you have an account asks for information that the business already has.
Check your accounts
Regularly check your account transactions and report any suspicious or unauthorised transactions.
Don’t believe promises of easy money
If someone claims that you can earn money with little or no work, get a loan or credit card even if you have bad credit, or make money on an investment with little or no risk, it’s probably a scam. Oftentimes, offers that seem too good to be true, actually are too good to be true.
Do not open email from people you don’t know
If you are unsure whether an email you received is legitimate, try contacting the sender directly via other means. Do not click on any links in an email unless you are sure it is safe.
Think before you click
If an email or text message looks suspicious, don’t open any attachments or click on the links.
Verify urgent requests or unsolicited emails, messages or phone calls before you respond
If you receive a message or a phone call asking for immediate action and don't know the sender, it could be a phishing message.
Be careful with links and new website addresses
Malicious website addresses may appear almost identical to legitimate sites. Scammers often use a slight variation in spelling or logo to lure you. Malicious links can also come from friends whose email has unknowingly been compromised, so be careful.
Secure your personal information
Before providing any personal information, such as your date of birth, Social Security number, account numbers, and passwords, be sure the website is secure.
Stay informed on the latest cyber threats
Keep yourself up to date on current scams by visiting this website daily.
Use Strong Passwords
Strong passwords are critical to online security.
Keep your software up to date and maintain preventative software programs
Keep all of your software applications up to date on your computers and mobile devices. Install software that provides antivirus, firewall, and email filter services.
Update the operating systems on your electronic devices
Make sure your operating systems (OSs) and applications are up to date on all of your electronic devices. Older and unpatched versions of OSs and software are the target of many hacks. Read the CISA security tip on Understanding Patches and Software Updates for more information.
What if You Got Scammed?
Stop Contact With The Scammer
Hang up the phone. Do not reply to emails, messages, or letters that the scammer sends. Do not make any more payments to the scammer. Beware of additional scammers who may contact you claiming they can help you get your lost money back.
Secure Your Finances
- Report potentially compromised bank account, credit or debit card information to your financial institution(s) immediately. They may be able to cancel or reverse fraudulent transactions.
- Notify the three major credit bureaus. They can add a fraud alert to warn potential credit grantors that you may be a victim of identity theft. You may also want to consider placing a free security freeze on your credit report. Doing so prevents lenders and others from accessing your credit report entirely, which will prevent them from extending credit:
- Equifax
- Experian
- TransUnion
Check Your Computer
If your computer was accessed or otherwise affected by a scam, check to make sure that your anti-virus is up-to-date and running and that your system is free of malware and keylogging software. You may also need to seek the help of a computer repair company. Consider utilizing the Better Business Bureau’s website to find a reputable company.
Change Your Account Passwords
Update your bank, credit card, social media, and email account passwords to try to limit further unauthorized access. Make sure to choose strong passwords when changing account passwords.
Report The Scam
Reporting helps protect others. While agencies can’t always track down perpetrators of crimes against scammers, they can utilize the information gathered to record patterns of abuse which may lead to action being taken against a company or industry.
Report your issue to the following agencies based on the nature of the scam:
- Local Law Enforcement: Consumers are encouraged to report scams to their local police department or sheriff’s office, especially if you lost money or property or had your identity compromised.
- Federal Trade Commission: Contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or use the Online Complaint Assistant to report various types of fraud, including counterfeit checks, lottery or sweepstakes scams, and more.
- Identitytheft.gov: If someone is using your personal information, like your Social Security, credit card, or bank account number, to open new accounts, make purchases, or get a tax refund, report it at www.identitytheft.gov. This federal government site will also help you create your Identity Theft Report and a personal recovery plan based on your situation. Questions can be directed to 877-ID THEFT.
How To Recognize a Phishing Scam
Scammers use email or text messages to try to steal your passwords, account numbers, or Social Security numbers. If they get that information, they could get access to your email, bank, or other accounts. Or they could sell your information to other scammers. Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks like these every day — and they’re often successful.
Scammers often update their tactics to keep up with the latest news or trends, but here are some common tactics used in phishing emails or text messages:
Phishing emails and text messages often tell a story to trick you into clicking on a link or opening an attachment. You might get an unexpected email or text message that looks like it’s from a company you know or trust, like a bank or a credit card or utility company. Or maybe it’s from an online payment website or app. The message could be from a scammer, who might
- say they’ve noticed some suspicious activity or log-in attempts — they haven’t
- claim there’s a problem with your account or your payment information — there isn’t
- say you need to confirm some personal or financial information — you don’t
- include an invoice you don’t recognize — it’s fake
- want you to click on a link to make a payment — but the link has malware
- say you’re eligible to register for a government refund — it’s a scam
- offer a coupon for free stuff — it’s not real
About Online Threat Alerts (OTA)
Online Threat Alerts or OTA is an anti-cybercrime community that started in 2012. OTA alerts the public to cyber crimes and other web threats.
By alerting the public, we have prevented a lot of online users from getting scammed or becoming victims of cybercrimes.
With the ever-increasing number of people going online, it important to have a community like OTA that continuously alerts or protects those same people from cyber-criminals, scammers and hackers, who are every day finding new ways of carrying out their malicious activities.
Online users can help by reporting suspicious or malicious messages or websites to OTA. And, if they want to determine if a message or website is a threat or scam, they can use OTA's search engine to search for the website or parts of the message for information.
Help maintain Online Threat Alerts (OTA).