I know we just sent you a Blog, but there is another problem that needs to be brought to your attention; financial fraud.

Phishing scams are more prevalent, so it pays to know a bit more about them and how you can protect your business.   At my networking meeting this week, almost everyone had been targetted, and some know associates who had lost a lot of money to pretty clever scammers.

It could start off as a scammer asking you to confirm personal details (how did they get them anyway?), or to alert you to suspicious activity on your credit card.   He (always a he) may quote your credit card but ask you to quote the 3 or 4 digit on the back of the card 'to verify code' (then they'll run up purchases of several thousand dollars in a couple of hours).   Subsequently the poor supplier will then have the sale cancelled and the funds recovered by the credit card supplier.

Phishing attacks are designed to look/sound genuine, it can involve very official-looking emails with instructions or perhaps which direct you to a website that looks very similar to the actual/true website.

How to Identify a Scam

Signs include:

- Some form of communication to 'update or verify personal details'

- The website you are directed to appears slightly different, and/or the URL address is slightly changed eg., the authentic address is www.realbank.com.au , but the scammers is www.real-bank.com.au.

- The communication is too generic in that it does not refer to your name or account details, and includes stilted wording, or grammatical errors and misspellings.

- Another version targets business owners or people in charge of finance.   The scammer sends a personal email to a particular senior person, and may refer to a crucial problem (legal issues, or complaints, or an urgent purchase).   It could direct you to a website or ask you to download a file, or request a password or request payment to a supplier you use (they may know you purchase from www.Smith&Co.com.au   and direct you to www.Smith&Co.com ).   If they send you a file, or a .zip file, don't open it as it may contain malware or ransomware.

Characteristics to Look For

- An email that is 'urgent' and refers to legal issues, complaints, or immediate payment required, and usually doesn't read 'quite right'.

- Includes a file attachment or a link to a website – don't open them or click through.

- The email address may look okay, but look more closely for a slight variation.

Anticipating Cyber Crime

These scams won't stop (in 2012 Australian businesses and consumers lost $469 million).   So what can you do:

- Warn your team about the problem – "don't open, question and check, don't give out personal information, etc."

- Make sure you have good IT support, who will recommend good anti-virus software, IT support, and regular and off-site back-ups.   (If you'd like someone who understands data management, we can recommend André Minnaar at Premium Business IT Pty Ltd,   http://pbit.com.au/ )

- Talk to your insurer about Cyber Insurance.   There are a lot of policies, but make sure it covers your needs (eg., pays if you lose money to a scam).   Again, if you'd like to talk to a specialist in this area, call Matthew Denehy at Agile Insurance on 0409 396 355.