Fraud Prevention, Business Banking, Personal Banking Article

Protect Your Business and Personal Finances from Phishing

A fishing hook piercing a stack of credit cards

Phishing is a cybercrime that occurs when you receive an email, phone call or text message from someone posing as a legitimate person or organization to lure you into giving out sensitive information such as banking and credit card details or sensitive passwords. Once they receive your personal data, they use the information to gain access to important accounts and the result can be identity theft and/or financial loss.

How to Recognize Phishing

Scammers launch thousands of phishing attacks every day on unsuspecting individuals and businesses alike. Unfortunately, they’re often successful. Tactics may change over time, but there are some general guidelines to follow that will help you recognize a phishing email or text message.

Ways to Protect Your Business from Phishing

A recent report  published by Verizon states that 90% of all corporate data breaches can be traced back to a phishing attempt. The average cost of a successful phishing scheme now costs a medium sized business $1.6 million, making it imperative that business owners and employees know how to recognize a scam. Phishing scammers are constantly changing their tactics which makes recognizing a scam more difficult. When a phishing scam is sophisticated, it is easy for business owners and their employees to fall for it. The strongest line of defense for a business to prevent phishing is to educate all its employees. However, if the proper tools and safeguards are in place, most phishing attacks will be thwarted before the email hits someone’s inbox.

Ways Your Employees Can Avoid Phishing Attacks If you educate your employees on what to look for and how to respond, they are much less likely to become a victim of a phishing scam. Make sure they know who to contact if they are ever unsure about a suspicious email. Include training on company security measures in new employee orientations. Then, keep employees updated regarding any changes to your security policies and procedures. Employees can follow some basic guidelines that will further help to prevent phishing attacks:

The Bottom Line on Phishing and Other Cyber Attacks A phishing incident or any other cyber scam could be devastating to your financial resources, not to mention the cost of losing your customers if their personal information has been compromised. Cyber criminals aren’t just after your business’s sensitive data, they’re also after the data you maintain for customers and their business transactions. Ultimately, the greatest cost of a successful phishing scheme to a business may not be stolen funds — it could be the damage to your business’s reputation. That’s why it’s more important than ever for businesses to establish guidelines and train employees on business security measures. At Stellar Bank, we want to help you minimize vulnerabilities, keep your operations running smoothly and maintain the trust your customers have in your business.

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