BBB Serving Wisconsin offers Tips to Be Safe from Cyber-Scammers While Telecommuting
Milwaukee, Wis. – BBB wants to warn employees about scammers and hackers who are trying to capitalize on the confusion of people who are working from home for the first time because of the coronavirus.Because of inexperience, confusion or the potential distractions from kids and pets, these employees may be vulnerable to accidentally falling victim to a scammer’s tricks.
BBB offers 5 Tips to Be Safe from Cyber-Scammers While Telecommuting:
- Watch out for strange voicemails or emails from your boss. Voice cloning software makes it easy for scammers to impersonate your boss and leave you a voicemail instructing you to wire money or divulge personal information. Likewise, scammers can hack into your boss’s email account — or create an email address that is similar to your boss’s — and send you an email with those instructions (Business Email Compromise scams, “BEC”). Take extra precautions to verify that the communication is actually from your boss before complying. (Read more about BBB’s BEC Scams study here)
- Stick with the company’s officially approved communications tools. Third-party, instant messaging apps might be more convenient but are often used by scammers to impersonate trusted contacts.
- Never click on links or open attachments in an email unless you’ve verified the sender. This is how hackers download viruses, keystroke loggers and other malware onto your computer. Slow down and be careful.
- Use company-issued equipment when possible. If you have a laptop or a mobile device provided by your company, use it. Security protocols on company technology are typically stronger than what’s on your personal devices. If you must use your personal computer or cell phone, make sure all security software is up-to-date.
- Always use the company portal to access the corporate servers. Every company has procedures in place for how employees should access the network when out of the office. If you’re not sure what that is, check with your IT department.
Businesses and consumers can find more BBB tips to navigate life during the coronavirus at bbb.org/coronavirus.
For an online version click here
For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.4 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at bbb.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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