In 2020, U.S. businesses lost almost $2 billion dollars due to compromised emails.
Is your business wiring money safely? Many companies don’t know that hackers can pose as trusted company vendors or financial institutions and send fraudulent emails with wiring instructions.
Tri City National Bank has five tips to help keep your business safe from scammers…
Tip 1: Don’t open emails from unknown senders
Do not click on links, open attachments or even open the email itself from an unknown sender. Doing so could place malware on your computer.
Tip 2: Double-check the sender’s email address
Spoofed emails often have similar extensions to real email addresses. For example, a hacker could disguise their email with @tcnb.org or @tcnb-online.com instead of @tcnb.com.
Tip 3: Know your vendor and banker habits
If there is a sudden change with the habits of a vendor or financial institution, beware. For example, a request to email updated account information for invoice payments. Or, suddenly receiving communication from a personal email address instead of the usual business address.
Tip 4: Be wary of emails marked “urgent” or “confidential”
Fraudsters will often use urgency or secrecy to compel employees to act on an email without consulting others.
Tip 5: Always verify before sending money or data
Make it standard procedure for your employees to verify all money transfers or data requests by using known phone numbers or face-to-face interaction. Verification is crucial if any of the previous red flags arise.
If you’re unsure about the authenticity of an email from a vendor or Tri City, call 414-874-2489.