Every Employee Has A Role In Preventing Cybercrime (Photo) - 11/01/21

How to protect yourself and your employer against fraud

All employees in a business have a critical role in preventing cybercrime and fraud. It only takes one wrong click, and even the best employees can unintentionally allow criminals into the businesses’ network. 

Anyone can be a victim.

In 2020, there were 19,000 reported business email scams representing $1.8 billion in total losses. Businesses lost an average of $93,000, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), a division of the FBI. 

“Cybercriminals have a host of ways they can infiltrate a company’s systems,” said Kathryn Albright, global payments and deposits executive with Umpqua Bank.  “Assuming that employees will spot the attacks, along with lax controls, allows perpetrators to fleece vulnerable companies of significant amounts of funds, often crippling their businesses.”  

It’s important to understand common attacks, tips to reduce risk, and what to do if a system is compromised.  

The most common types of attacks are: business email compromise (BEC), tech support fraud, dual-factor authentication code hacks, and ransomware. BEC, is the most popular. In this scheme, criminals hack into company email systems through unsuspecting employees, then pose as executives asking to wire funds to an external account. 

Tips to Reduce the Risk of Fraud:  

• Don’t click. Remember, it only takes one careless “click” to let criminals into your network. 
• Trust but verify. Employ proper protocols to protect against fraud. There should be clear processes in place for transactions. At least two people should be required to sign off on large amounts. Use dual-factor authentication (these codes should never be shared). 
• Bolster passwords, and then some. Use a password of 15 characters or more to thwart most password-cracking software. Use a password manager. 
• Edit social media content. Don’t share details that might be used to guess a password.

If you’ve been compromised:

• Act fast. Report any events or attacks immediately. If wiring money is involved, ask the recipient bank to freeze the transfer and block settlement of a transaction. Speed is of the essence. 
• Notify your security team. Report even a suspicion of a breach to your manager, technology team or cybersecurity officials at your business.
• Work with law enforcement. Report your incident to the IC3 team at the FBI that works to recover assets.

“Criminals are always working to take advantage of the most vulnerable defenses in any business,” Albright says. “Employees need to remain on guard at all times.

For more information about preventing and responding to cyber fraud, review the Federal Trade Commission’s data breech response guide for business or visit stopransomware.gov.

Umpqua Bank, based in Portland, Oregon, takes safety and privacy seriously. For more information on how to protect yourself or your business, visit umpquabank.com.