It is a common misconception that customers are the only targets for scammers. We should all know by now that criminals posing as companies are texting, emailing, and calling to steal our personal data and drain our bank accounts. But businesses face those same attacks. Let me tell you what happened to our company last month.
We offer customers the option to request a quote on our website. New customers frequently access this feature.
In May, Timothy received a request for a quotation to replace five fans in a home that the customer indicated was being sold, and they included a link to the desired fan specifications.
Timothy didn’t click on the link, but instead requested more written details. In response, the potential customer resent the link instead of answering the question. After years protecting highly sensitive information in the oil field, his danger radar was pinging.
Instead of clicking on the link, he searched the address of the location where the work was to be done and realized that the owner’s name was different from the person who had contacted him.
He called the actual owners and was told that they were planning to sell their house, but had not yet and that they had not contacted him. What could have happened if he had clicked that link? He would have most likely downloaded malware that could have targeted our company and compromised our business systems.
Small companies like ours are frequent targets of ransomware and are susceptible to scam artists posing as customers because we are always cultivating new business.
You may not have a company, but you too are a target for social engineering scams where psychological manipulation deceives you into revealing sensitive information or taking actions that could compromise your security. I know you have heard it before, but it is worth repeating:
Always Verify: Check that suspicious caller by hanging up and calling a number from the website of the supposed organization.
Be Wary of a Link: Do not click links from texts you randomly receive or in email from unknown email addresses.
Cultivate Suspicion: Make sure your head is clear before taking a call from a random number or reviewing a text. The news is full of stories of individuals who received phone calls from AI-voiced “family members” in danger and requesting a ransom, personal information, or help with a legal issue. Contact them using another method before taking any action.
Due Diligence: Regularly review your credit reports and seriously consider locking them using a credit monitoring service.
