Delete your heart out

As we mentioned yesterday, it’s the small business scam du jour.  What looks like an email from the FTC notifying a company about a pending complaint is really a phishing attempt from a con artist.  Here are four steps you can take to help protect your business.

1)  Get rid of it.  One particular risk is that fraudsters may use email links to install malware on your computer, so first things first.  If you get a message like this, don’t open it.  Don’t check out any of the links.  Just click DELETE and be done with it.  (Feel free to add a “Take that,” “Buh-bye,” or the two-word exhortation of your choice.)

2)  Alert your staff.  Companies are telling us that employees at all levels and in different departments are getting the scam email.  Warn your team that it’s a phony.  Post this release on your break room bulletin board.  Include a heads-up on your intranet site.  Mention it in your next staff meeting.

3)  Caution your colleagues.  You keep up on the latest at the FTC, but not everyone in your industry may follow breaking news as closely.   Do them a favor and warn them about this scam.  Alert your customers, your contractors and suppliers, and members of the local business community.

4)  Train your team.  By now, you’ve built data security into your in-house training.  Next time you have a refresher planned, mention this episode.  Nothing underscores the need for caution more than real-world examples of how scammers operate.