The Federation issued its warning after one of its northern members was called by a fraudster claiming to be a police officer offering advertising space in a police booklet. The booklet was supposedly designed for local residents and aimed at promoting policy activity and raising awareness of drug and alcohol issues.

An Ongoing Problem

Back in 2010, many small businesses and organisations in the Manchester area, including bakers, church groups and sports clubs, were caught out in an almost identical scam that saw them pay for advertising in a non-existent ‘Police Crime Prevention Year Book’.

The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau received 46 complaints from organisations that had lost £8,500 from the scam, with victims paying between £90 and £350 for adverts. Rather than asking people to pay for new adverts, though, those fraudsters claimed invoices had not been paid for ads taken out in the book the year before.

Action Fraud report that in the more recent cases, victims are receiving a telephone call from someone purporting to be a bailiff enforcing a court judgement, attempting to recover a non-existent debt incurred from magazine advertising.

The fraudsters use a variety of magazine names and publishers and are using the names such “Scott Davis”, “Stephen King” and “Mark Taylor”, all names of certified Bailiff Enforcement Agents. They demand that the debt is repaid by bank transfer, and if the victim refuses, they threaten to visit their home or workplace to recover the debt.

Not surprisingly, those who have paid the ‘debt’ aren’t provided with a receipt for the payment or contact details and later discover the debt never existed.

Action Fraud’s alert warns: “This type of fraud is nationwide. Since 2017, there have been 52 reports relating to this fraud. From the reports received, there are a range of different businesses and individuals being targeted.”

Protect yourself from scams

You can protect yourself and your business by:

• Staying aware. There are similar scams that include offering advertising space in bogus publications for ‘good causes’. Check out Action Fraud’s news and alerts page regularly for details of what to look out for.
• Remember that just because someone knows your basic details, such as your name and address, it doesn’t mean they are genuine.
• Always question cold callers, and contact the companies directly using a known email or phone number.
• Don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision: A legitimate company will be prepared to wait whilst you verify information.

You can get further advice on avoiding scams on Financial Fraud Action’s Take Five page. If you’ve been a victim of this scam or any other yourself, put aside any embarrassment you feel and report it to Action Fraud. While there’s no guarantee this will resolve your situation, your information may be able to prevent someone else from falling victim to the same or similar scams.

The post Small Businesses Beware: Scam Raises Its Ugly Head Again appeared first on The Cheap Accountants.

But how can we ensure our data in the Cloud is safe? Here are seven simple security measures to help you ensure your business data is as safe as it can be in the Cloud (and out of it!).

Pick Your Cloud Provider Carefully

Make sure you’re armed with as much information as possible before you make your choice. Where are their cloud servers located? What security measures do they have in place (and do they include encryption?). Under which data protection regulations do they fall (this can vary depending on the physical location of the servers and the location of the registered office of the company). Do they offer a VPN (virtual private network) service for more secure remote access?

It’s also worth asking what happens to your data when you delete it at your end. Although you can no longer see it, it may not truly be deleted at all, meaning it’s still out there to be found by determined cyber criminals.

Keep Security Software Up to Date

Any security software is only as good as it’s last update, and the most secure versions of any other apps and operating systems you use is the most recent, so make sure everything is updated regularly. It’s a little pointless to choose a Cloud provider with a great security record if malware on your PC is logging every keystroke.

Use encryption

Your Cloud provider should be encrypting your data, but another good layer of security is to encrypt the data at your end too, so that’s it extra secure before it’s uploaded to the Cloud.

Avoid Operating on an ‘Access All Areas’ Basis

While allowing everyone in your company to have access to everything may seem tempting simple and hassle-free, it’s not a good idea. Ensuring that employees can only access the specific information they need to do their job is one of the best ways to protect not just your data but them as well.

Also, while it may seem a good idea to upload everything to the Cloud, using it as another form of back-up, this isn’t wise either. It can be a hard habit to get into, but think before you put information online or upload it to the Cloud. If it doesn’t need to be there, it’s almost certainly safer where it is – and if it’s sensitive but redundant data, it’s best to be rid of it entirely

Lock in your logins

This may sound like security 101, but do ensure that you and your employees keep their passwords secure – and although everyone will hate you for it, insisting on regular password changes is a good idea too. It only takes that sticky note on Robert’s monitor to fall into the wrong hands and bam – your security is gone. Encourage employees to choose different passwords for work than those they use at home, and to go for the memorable but not the obvious.

Combinations of characters, numbers and symbols are more secure than words.

Use Two or Multi-step Authentication

This requires an additional element to be provided when you login, be that a biometric element such as your fingerprint, voice or retinal scan, a possession element (such as a keycard you must swipe or a security token), or a code or pin (this could be randomly generated and/or sent to the user by test or email).
Remember that awareness is the key

There are two facets of awareness to be considered here – your awareness of your company’s Cloud and internet use, and the cyber security awareness of your employees.

Your Cloud provider may supply activity monitoring as a service. It may not be the most fascinating data to look through, but it’s worth casting your eye over who has logged in – and when and where they did so. This allows you to pinpoint any unusual or suspicious activity and investigate immediately.

Ensure your employees are aware of all the methods cybercriminals can use to hack your system, including phishing. They need to be wary of any email or phone call asking for information, and emails containing links or attached files. They also need to make the security of hardware a priority, making sure laptops, tablets, Smartphones and USB sticks etc are password protected and stored securely.

The post Seven Simple Cloud Security Measures For SMES appeared first on The Cheap Accountants.