5 Ways to Protect Your Business from COVID-19 Phishing Scams

Family therapy for communication issues near me,Family therapy for communication skills,Family therapy for communication issues online,Family therapy for communication difficulties,Family therapy for communication and trust,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD online,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD near me,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD children,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD adults,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD and depression,Therapy for depression and grief,Depression therapy near me,Grief counseling near me,Depression and grief therapy online,Depression and grief group therapy,Depression and grief therapy,Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques,Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for depression,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for couples,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for groups,motionally-focused couples therapy near me,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for infidelity,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for communication,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for anxiety,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for depression,Online therapy sessions,Online counseling sessions,Online therapy video sessions,Online therapy chat sessions,Online therapy phone sessions,Online therapy group sessions,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy online,LGBT-sensitive therapy near me,LGBT-friendly therapy in my area,LGBTQ+ affirming psychotherapy,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy for couples,Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques,Evidence-based trauma-informed therapy,Trauma-focused therapy for children,Trauma-informed therapy for adults,Trauma-informed therapy for couples,Individual therapy for anxiety,Individual anxiety therapy online,Individual therapy for anxiety disorders,One-on-one anxiety therapy near me,Individualized anxiety therapy sessions,Individual anxiety therapy for adults,Couples therapy near me,Couples therapy in my area,Couples therapy near me today,Couples therapy close to me,Couples therapy in my city,Couples therapy in my zip code,Best PTSD therapy techniques,PTSD therapy near me,Effective PTSD therapy options,PTSD therapy for veterans,Affordable PTSD therapy services,PTSD therapy for children,Holistic PTSD therapy approaches,Online PTSD therapy sessions,Natural remedies for PTSD therapy,PTSD therapy for first responders,PTSD therapy for sexual assault survivors,EMDR therapy for PTSD,Group PTSD therapy sessions,PTSD therapy for caregivers,Military PTSD therapy options

When business cycles are disrupted, work from home is common, online purchases are the norm and cybercriminals come out with more aggressive tactics to steal your money and data. It is alarming to know that there has been a 300% rapid increase in cyber-attacks during COVID-19, and phishing scams constitute a significant portion of these online crimes. 

The increasing threat of cybercrime means that businesses need to stay hyper-vigilant to ensure business security and privacy. The loss of usernames, private data, and financial information can cause serious challenges for businesses. 

Worried? You should be, but don’t lose hope. You can always take measures to protect your business from phishing scams. Let’s have a look at some of the most popular measures for protection against Phishing Scams: 

1. Notice the Red Flags

Since employees are working from home, even corner table discussions are now happening digitally. It isn’t strange to get a few more unverified emails than normal. Therefore, getting trapped by a phishing email is more probable these days. Employees are more likely to open an unknown email during COVID because they are more likely to believe it’s an authentic email from a colleague or friend. 

Hence, it would be best if you stay vigilant and double-check the information before clicking on unknown links. Look for obvious red flags to suss out scammers. The most common signs of phishing emails include:

  • Typos
  • Common grammatical mistakes, 
  • Strange email addresses 

Furthermore, uncommon tactics, too good to be true offers, and “better now” emails are suspicious. Don’t take risks. If you are unsure about the credibility of an email, double-check it to confirm the authenticity of the sender before you proceed. 

2. Focus on Employee Training

Family therapy for communication issues near me,Family therapy for communication skills,Family therapy for communication issues online,Family therapy for communication difficulties,Family therapy for communication and trust,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD online,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD near me,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD children,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD adults,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD and depression,Therapy for depression and grief,Depression therapy near me,Grief counseling near me,Depression and grief therapy online,Depression and grief group therapy,Depression and grief therapy,Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques,Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for depression,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for couples,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for groups,motionally-focused couples therapy near me,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for infidelity,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for communication,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for anxiety,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for depression,Online therapy sessions,Online counseling sessions,Online therapy video sessions,Online therapy chat sessions,Online therapy phone sessions,Online therapy group sessions,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy online,LGBT-sensitive therapy near me,LGBT-friendly therapy in my area,LGBTQ+ affirming psychotherapy,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy for couples,Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques,Evidence-based trauma-informed therapy,Trauma-focused therapy for children,Trauma-informed therapy for adults,Trauma-informed therapy for couples,Individual therapy for anxiety,Individual anxiety therapy online,Individual therapy for anxiety disorders,One-on-one anxiety therapy near me,Individualized anxiety therapy sessions,Individual anxiety therapy for adults,Couples therapy near me,Couples therapy in my area,Couples therapy near me today,Couples therapy close to me,Couples therapy in my city,Couples therapy in my zip code,Best PTSD therapy techniques,PTSD therapy near me,Effective PTSD therapy options,PTSD therapy for veterans,Affordable PTSD therapy services,PTSD therapy for children,Holistic PTSD therapy approaches,Online PTSD therapy sessions,Natural remedies for PTSD therapy,PTSD therapy for first responders,PTSD therapy for sexual assault survivors,EMDR therapy for PTSD,Group PTSD therapy sessions,PTSD therapy for caregivers,Military PTSD therapy options

No matter what cybercriminals are up to, if you have a well-trained staff, no one can scam your business. Remote working is a first-time experience for many employees, so they may become easy victims of phishing scams. However, if employees are well-trained in recognizing phishing scams, they can easily differentiate between real and scam emails. 

For instance, Carpet Cleaning told us that they held zoom classes to train employees for protection against cyber-attacks early on in the pandemic to protect client data. The trainer showed samples of common scam messages so employees could identify phishing attempts. They also created a confidential email for inter-departmental communication to report phishing attempts immediately. 

Moreover, train your employees to refrain from using public Wi-Fi and close all unnecessary tabs while working on sensitive data. Encryption is also important; therefore, be sure to educate your employees to install the most effective antivirus. Keeping it updated is even more important. Maintaining a security system is mandatory to remind the team about security issues. You can use Microsoft Teams, a reliable platform for communication. 

Also, remind employees to call the sender before sending any sensitive information. In urgent cases or any suspicious activity, employees should know the procedure to report. 

3. Stay Protected with Email Protective Tools 

Another great way of protecting your company from phishing scams is to use email protective tools and settings. Avoid the risk of losing your crucial information by employing protective features. These features help by automatically encrypting your emails, thereby making it almost impossible for scammers to hack the email. Whether the data is at rest or in transit, the protective features will play their role and protect your data. 

You can use Microsoft Outlook and stay safe with its dynamic filtering features. You can easily set the junk list filter to low or high, automatic filtering or safe list. Apart from that, you will also get a reminder before opening any suspicious messages. These messages are generated through the domain names of email addresses. 

4. Password Protection and Access Management 

Family therapy for communication issues near me,Family therapy for communication skills,Family therapy for communication issues online,Family therapy for communication difficulties,Family therapy for communication and trust,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD online,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD near me,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD children,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD adults,Cognitive-behavioral therapy for OCD and depression,Therapy for depression and grief,Depression therapy near me,Grief counseling near me,Depression and grief therapy online,Depression and grief group therapy,Depression and grief therapy,Mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques,Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy techniques,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for anxiety,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for depression,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for couples,Mindfulness-based stress reduction for groups,motionally-focused couples therapy near me,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for infidelity,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for communication,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for anxiety,Emotionally-focused couples therapy for depression,Online therapy sessions,Online counseling sessions,Online therapy video sessions,Online therapy chat sessions,Online therapy phone sessions,Online therapy group sessions,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy online,LGBT-sensitive therapy near me,LGBT-friendly therapy in my area,LGBTQ+ affirming psychotherapy,LGBTQ+ affirming therapy for couples,Trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques,Evidence-based trauma-informed therapy,Trauma-focused therapy for children,Trauma-informed therapy for adults,Trauma-informed therapy for couples,Individual therapy for anxiety,Individual anxiety therapy online,Individual therapy for anxiety disorders,One-on-one anxiety therapy near me,Individualized anxiety therapy sessions,Individual anxiety therapy for adults,Couples therapy near me,Couples therapy in my area,Couples therapy near me today,Couples therapy close to me,Couples therapy in my city,Couples therapy in my zip code,Best PTSD therapy techniques,PTSD therapy near me,Effective PTSD therapy options,PTSD therapy for veterans,Affordable PTSD therapy services,PTSD therapy for children,Holistic PTSD therapy approaches,Online PTSD therapy sessions,Natural remedies for PTSD therapy,PTSD therapy for first responders,PTSD therapy for sexual assault survivors,EMDR therapy for PTSD,Group PTSD therapy sessions,PTSD therapy for caregivers,Military PTSD therapy options

Setting strong passwords is another great way to stay safe from hackers. Make sure that your password is a combination of letters, symbols, digits, and letters. If you need passwords at multiple locations and have trouble remembering them, be sure to use a password manager instead of keeping one password for everything. 

Besides this, use multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA select restricts certain locations from which your account can be accessed for higher security. 

Phishing scams are not just limited to personal exploitation; if someone gets a hold of your business accounts, they can steal your money, client information, and gain business secrets. Thus, two-layer protection, access management, and password protection are vital for your business security. 

5. Website Verification and Financial Information 

Scammers will keep doing their job, but we have to make it hard for them. Rather than jumping at the lottery-winning messages and quickly downloading the unverified links, take a few minutes to verify the website and sender. Similarly, if you have visited a certain link and it’s demanding your financial information, never give it. 

Be sure to verify a website before giving any information. Make a rule that financial information will never be shared via email. If it is a call, be sure that you are the person initiating it. 

Wrapping It Up 

Undoubtedly, COVID-19 phishing scams are booming with each passing day. There is a dire need to take appropriate measures for business protection in this critical time. From small measures to full protection, a company needs to take serious steps to thwart scams. When business cycles are already disrupted, loss of sensitive information can result in a complete downfall. Thus, you need to stay alert to these phishing scams and guide your team accordingly. 

Provide appropriate training, show examples of previous scams, choose a wise email service provider that can send alert messages on suspicious acts, set a dual-authentication system, set strong passwords, and always verify the sender before sharing any business details. If you pay attention to these useful tips, you are more likely to stay safe from the malicious acts of cybercriminals. 

Bonus Tip: 

If you suspect some illicit activity on your account, quickly log out from all of your accounts and change the passwords. Additionally, have a look at your login details and see if there have been any more logins that are different from your timeline. Don’t  be lazy in checking your financial accounts. Go through the transactions and quickly report if there are some odd ones to make sure nothing is amiss. It’s better to be safe than sorry!


Arslan Hassan is an electrical engineer with a passion for writing, designing, and anything tech-related. His educational background in the technical field has given him the edge to write on many topics. He occasionally writes blog articles for Shireen Inc.

RECOMMENDED POSTS

Find Out More

Marketing Tips You Need

Keep In Touch

Quick Subscribe

Client Reviews Tell The Tale.

Dan was a delight to work with. I needed a few headshots taken for my LinkedIn profile and Dan provided the easiest and most comfortable experience using state-of-the art equipment in a very professional setting. Also, the turn-around time on results was quick and I felt completely engaged and satisfied during the entire process. I highly recommend his services.Donny RitcharoenDecember 19, 2023
I got headshots taken and they turned out so well! The lighting was amazing.Tessa ChanMay 30, 2023
We used Appture to build a lodging website, and they were awesome! Dan went above and beyond to show us the functions and make all of our changes. Appture is our go to for web design from now on!Abigail HaleOctober 26, 2022
Dan did a fantastic job making me feel comfortable while shooting. He also made me look great! I don't photograph well, so I am very pleased with the results and speed at which I got the final product.Lily GostinSeptember 13, 2022
Appture knows their business and will go the extra mile for their customers. They do high quality work and provide great ongoing support.Chris McCorkindaleMay 24, 2022
Anita CauthornMay 24, 2022
It’s so rare in these times to find one man with so much wow factor and more rare to find men with similar interest and passion in their life journey as myself . Dan Elliott has been introduced to many in what is now considered as the Terror Dome , a place where many dreams are not deferred they are detoured to routes that lead to dead ends , he comes in full of optimism so infectious that he, maybe with out knowing is energizing those who have ventured where others would fear going with just the right jolt to forge on in the way of helping fallen humanity … His various fields of expertise has helped many in my region and I can only imagine the number he has effected beyond those I know … from day one I knew “ this was a man of kindred spirit “ Dan Elliott is a Gem and adds glimmer to things he touches … I’m a Witness ….and eternally grateful….L.Rashaan RichMay 21, 2022
Dan and his group are highly capable and knowledgeable. They work fast and get the job done. I highly recommend Appture.Justin FrankMarch 26, 2022
They are highly specialized in their work and constantly seek innovation.Ismail YenigulMarch 14, 2022
Dan is a marketing wizard. Honest, Experienced and a read deal. I am blessed to have him in my journey online :) Highly recommended.Sabbir HasanMarch 7, 2022
So much to say. Creative, Intelligent, Talented, Limitless, Affordable. It's amazing what these guys can do.Hack mackMay 17, 2019
We'd used some other agencies before, but man, they simply knocked us all over. After being in business for 30 years, I wonder how much more business we'd be doing if we'd hired them earlier.Rebecca HoneaMay 17, 2019