As a business owner, it’s important to be vigilant about protecting your company from fraudsters, scammers, and online threats. These days, there are more ways than ever for criminals to access your personal and financial information—and once they have it, they can wreak havoc on your life.
That’s why it’s so important to stay up-to-date on the latest scams and how to protect yourself from them. In this blog post, we’ll share some of the most common scams targeting businesses today, as well as some tips on how to avoid becoming a victim. Keep reading to learn more!
Common Scams Targeting Businesses Today
Phishing scams. Phishing is a type of scam in which criminals send emails or texts pretending to be from a legitimate source in order to trick you into sharing sensitive information like passwords or credit card numbers. Be on the lookout for any suspicious emails or texts purporting to be from your bank, the IRS, or other organizations you do business with—if you’re not expecting a message from them, don’t open it!
Invoice scams. With this type of scam, fraudsters will send an invoice to a business for goods or services that were never actually provided. The goal is to get the business owner to pay the invoice without realizing that they’ve been scammed. To avoid becoming a victim of this type of scam, always double-check invoices against your records to make sure that you actually received the goods or services in question before paying them.
Employee email compromise scams. This type of scam occurs when a criminal gains access to an employee’s email account and then uses it to send fraudulent messages or wire transfers in the name of the company. To protect yourself from this type of scam, make sure that all of your employees are using strong passwords and that you have security measures like two-factor authentication in place.
Malware attacks. Malware is a type of malicious software that can infect your computer and give criminals access to your sensitive data. To protect yourself from malware attacks, always keep your antivirus software up-to-date and be careful about what you click on or download—even if an email or website looks legitimate, it could be hiding malware.
Ransomware attacks. This type of attack occurs when criminals use malware to gain access to your computer system and then demand payment in exchange for releasing your data back to you. To protect yourself from ransomware attacks, always back up your data regularly so that you can restore it if necessary, and never pay the ransom.
Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. A DoS attack is when someone tries to make an online service unavailable by flooding it with traffic from multiple sources. This type of attack can render a website or app unusable, preventing customers from being able to access it. To protect yourself from DoS attacks, make sure that your website or app has strong security measures in place, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
Website hijacking. This type of attack occurs when someone gains unauthorized access to a website and makes changes to its content or redirects visitors to another site. Website hijacking can be used for malicious purposes, such as spreading malware, phishing scams, or political propaganda. To protect yourself from website hijacking, always use strong passwords and keep your website software up-to-date with the latest security patches.
SQL injection attacks.This type of attack occurs when someone inserts malicious code into a database through a vulnerable input field, such as a login form. Once the code is executed, it can allow attackers to view, modify, or delete data stored in the database. To protect yourself from SQL injection attacks, always validate user input before inserting it into your database.
These are just some of the most common scams targeting businesses today—but unfortunately, there are many more out there. The best way to protect yourself is to stay informed and be vigilant about the threats facing your business.