Even though you may take a number of steps to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of crime within your workplace, such as through having a security system, CCTV, or strong locks on doors, it is possibly for criminals to gain access to data with malicious intent without ever needing to set foot in the building.
With the number of different technologies, software, and apps available, people are finding more and more ways to commit cybercrime and cause fraud, theft, and anxiety in those around them.
Scam Calls
Some businesses conduct a number of calls, both inbound and outbound, on a daily basis. Have you ever heard the phone ring, and wonder if it’s a scam phone call from 01709357348? The number can come from a telephone, or even be a cellphone number, and not one that you would recognize. Occasionally, the caller may have also withheld their number. There are ways that you can figure out whether or not a call is genuine, such as by looking for the official telephone number for the company that claims to be calling, or even hanging up and calling the number you know to be accurate.
Reporting scam phone calls can help officials to track down culprits, and prevent them from occurring. For this reason, if ever in doubt, it can be a good idea to never share any personal or company data with people over the telephone.
Phishing Emails
Scammers don’t only work via the telephone. Historically, they might have sent letters trying to get you to part with money or financial data. Now, they may send emails to your business email account, claiming to be another business or even a client. Often, these phishing emails will lead you to an illegitimate website, which you may work out from the URL, and often come from unofficial email accounts themselves, so it is always a good idea to look at the sender’s information. The term ‘phishing’ comes from how they attempt to lure people in with fake offers or even threats, and these such emails should be marked as junk and reported.
Malware
There are a number of different viruses that your computer can obtain through visiting web pages and downloading from the internet or from email attachments. Malware describes any type of software that is built to corrupt your system. This can include a number of viruses, such as the Trojan virus, as well as adware, ransomware, which will extort you for the return of your services, and items that track your keystrokes, in the hope of gaining personal or financial data. When running a company, these can be incredibly debilitating, especially if sensitive customer data is also breached in the process.
Learning about the different types of cybercrime, as well as how to spot them, can help to give you a bit of protection against these kinds of criminals. Reporting anything that seems suspicious, and introducing company training, may also help to prevent cybercrime from occurring within your business.
