It seems like every day we read articles about some sort of scam happening. If you’re like me, you question how people don’t realize they were getting scammed. 

It’s so obvious, right? 

Turns out, scams are not always that obvious. Scammers are getting more and more creative every day.

After training at 9 Clouds, I realized I could have easily been targeted. I had an eye opening experience learning about cyber security and safety procedures. Falling for one of these simple traps could have serious repercussions, which is why we take security very seriously. 

We have safeguards and continuing education in place for our team, which helps us protect our clients and their valuable information.

But how can you reduce your own risk for yourself and your business?

Reduce the Risk of Getting Scammed

Training

Be informed! 

An informed workforce is an important piece of the defense against threats to your business. It’s crucial to increase your team’s familiarity with threats and how to prevent them in this ever-changing world. 

At 9 Clouds, we go through continued security awareness training to learn how to better spot scams. 

Password Protection and 2FA

Employees at all levels should also learn password best practices. You can easily help protect your team by creating strong passwords and storing them safely. 

Businesses should set up two-factor authentication (2FA) across all accounts — including social media accounts. 2FA adds an extra layer of security to the authentication process when users log into an account. Typical 2FA are delivered as a code from an authentication app, SMS-code, tap notification on a trusted device, or biometric check (such as a fingerprint or Face ID scan). 

Skip the Post-It: Why Password Management Software Is Necessary

Protect Against Email Scams

Be Aware of Suspicious or Unsolicited Emails

Think before you click! According to KnowBe4, of all successful cyber attacks, 91 percent started with a phishing email. Educate your employees on how to recognize phishing emails. 

Employees should be taught these basic precautions to take when they come across a suspicious email. 

• Never click on or open any email attachments.
• Try to confirm the message’s legitimacy through other channels.
• Call the email sender (the actual email address the message was sent from) if you’re uncertain to verify legitimacy.

Remember to ask yourself these questions:

• Does the email invoke a sense of urgency? This may be a phishing scam. If you receive an urgent request, have an unpaid invoice, have an unexpected charge on Amazon, or have a locked account on Facebook, you should take a second look at what is going on.
• Is the wording off or misspelled? It’s common for phishing scams to appear to come from trusted sources, such as your boss, a client, a friend, your security team or even the State Department. But if it doesn’t sound right, the grammar is poor or words are misspelled, take other steps to verify that it’s legitimate.
• Is the email address correct? It may look exactly right, but still be a fake email. In Gmail, you can click the arrow next to the sender’s name to see more details. This will show you the real sender’s email address, which could be different from what appears from the email.
• Is it a trusted URL? Take a moment to hover over a link (without clicking) and check the URL to make sure the link leads to a trusted and known website.

Social Media Safety

Social media is part of many people’s daily lives — we use it to stay in touch, make new friends, find inspiration, shop, or just kill time.

Unfortunately, social media has become a gold mine for scammers. Follow these tips to help reduce scams on your social media accounts.

Check your social settings on personal accounts and business accounts

Security settings on your social media accounts — both business and personal —should be reviewed regularly as platforms update security policies and options often. 

For your personal account, allow only people you know into your social network. Don’t accept friendship requests from people you do not recognize. You can limit who can see your information, photos, and posts on most social networks. To stay safe, limit the number of people who can see your information as much as possible.

For your business account, regularly review your security settings and make sure you know who you’re adding as an admin. Scammers can completely control your account — and you can lose all access — if they trick you into accepting them as administrator of your business page. Then they can take advantage of your followers’ trust and post malicious links and fraudulent content.

Be cautious of links posted in comment sections or in private messages. 

Some scammers use the comments section of popular social media accounts to trick a large number of people, even if it’s on the verified social media page of a business, team, or person.

Don’t click on links in messages from people you don’t know. And in messages from people you do know, if you’re unsure, double check with a friend to verify if they sent the message before you click. Chances are, they didn’t, and the sender’s account may be compromised. 

Don’t engage in financial transactions on social networks.

Social media scams often ask you to send money to someone electronically — whether posing as a friend or asking for money for a charity. 

Never send money or share financial information with anyone you don’t know. Even if you receive an email asking for money from a friend, you should call your friend to ensure that it is a legitimate request and not a scam. And if you’d like to donate money, go directly to the website of the charity you trust and donate directly there. 

9 Clouds’ Digital Advice Checklist for 2023 

Protecting Our Partners

It’s clear that the internet is a powerful tool. It enables information to be exchanged in a matter of seconds. However, the main problem with this rapid exchange of information is that security is not always guaranteed.

We see headlines about new scams every day. That’s why we are dedicated to protecting the privacy of our partners and big advocates for security prevention and preparedness. 

9 Clouds is constantly evolving its safeguards and investing in technology, resources and people to prevent and detect scams and respond to new risks. Maintaining the security of your information and assets is a critical element of our business partnerships. 

We are as committed to keeping your business information secure as you are. If you’re looking for a digital marketing partner, find out more about how we can help your business or schedule a call to get a custom proposal. 

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