Talk with employees about scams

Unfortunately, getting scammed is a real possibility these days, so we need to talk with employees about scams and how they can affect their lives at work and at home.  Many of us are all too familiar with the phishing schemes that can seriously affect a business, and we need to make sure our employees are aware of them as well.

Larger companies have technical groups that can run exercises to see if their employees fall for a trap set up by the department.  These serve as great tools to show employees what can happen if they click on the wrong link or respond to the wrong email.  Many faulty (or nonexistent) items have been purchased and/or funds lost due to employees falling victim to these con artists, and the employers pay the price.

Unfortunately, smaller companies can’t always afford the technical help that can block many of these schemes and/or educate the staff with meaningful examples.  Of course, even if those are implemented, the scams change constantly so we must all be vigilant.

Talk to your staff about verifying information prior to getting drawn in.  If they receive an email from someone they haven’t interacted with, asking for money/purchase orders/personal information, they need to double check before providing information or clicking on links to see if they’re legitimate.  Staff need to know to look at email addresses for consistency; slightly “off” emails are often used, such as @yourbnk as opposed to @yourbank.  One letter can make a big difference.

Remind them that vigilance needs to be taken both at work and at home as there is no boundary in these.  Hackers don’t care if it’s personal or professional; they just want easy money/information. If you get a request for information from a company you work with but something isn’t right, don’t respond, contact your regular representative or contact the company directly to find out if the need is real.

Also remind staff that just because they see something on social media doesn’t make it true/accurate.  Social media can be another area for misinformation and scammers.  Research a company before purchasing products or supplying credit or personal information.

Talk with employees about implementing multi-factor authentication wherever possible.  Make this a policy where it makes sense.  Remind them that sensitive company data is confidential and care needs to be taken.

Protect your company and your employees by providing education and reminders.  We need all the tools and resources we can get to deter scammers.

#positivity #managementsolutions #hrconsultant #scams