Small and medium size businesses are
mostly prone to failure because of improper internal controls. Cyber fraud in
one or the other form is the most prevalent internal issue that they face
today.
Another reason behind small
businesses becoming the victim of such frauds is their lack of adequate capital
as well as technological resources that can help them protect their assets.
Internal theft by computer,
unauthorized access to critical information systems, credit card fraud etc.,
are some of the major cyber scams prevalent these days. Auditors, business
owners, and managers need to learn the way to avoid such scams from happening.
For this, it needs to be ensured
that suitable controls are well in place in order to facilitate the prevention
and detection of such scams.
The Horrific Impact of Online Fraud
There are different types of online
scams or frauds. Some of these include phishing that use forged e-mails &
websites in order to trick recipients. On receiving such fraudulent emails, the
recipients may give out their personal information like credit card data,
passwords and social security numbers.
Once all such critical information
gets leaked, the user may have to suffer in different ways.
The person's social security number
may be misused in several illegal ways while the credit card data may be used
to make some unauthorized transactions as well.
By having at least slight technical
advice and common sense, it will be possible for you to avoid the chances of
occurrence of online fraud. In order to avoid being a victim of such scams, you
need to follow a few tips. Let's take a look at some of the Do's and Dont's in
this regard.
What
you Must Do?
●
Disable file sharing on your personal computer
●
Always take extreme caution when opening
attachments from unknown senders.
●
Ensure familiarizing yourself with the privacy
policy of the website you are browsing. This should be done, especially if you
are prompted to provide your confidential/personal data.
●
Review your credit card statements and bank
statements regularly.
●
Install & update your software firewall,
anti-spyware and antivirus solutions.
●
Ensure keeping your Windows operating system as
well as all your applications updated.
●
Always create strong passwords. Strong passwords
typically include eight characters or more than that. You can use a unique
combination of numbers, letters and symbols.
●
Also protect the passwords carefully by using
suitable password protection software. Such software encrypt passwords for
secure storage, monitor them for unauthorized usage, and also notifies you
whenever a website offers secure login capabilities.
●
Lock your home mailbox.
What
you Should Avoid
1. Do not provide your personal data
to anyone either over phone or in person unless & until you are totally
sure about the other party’s trustworthiness.
2. Do not give out your personal
crucial information in response to following -
●
Any email
●
A website you are visiting through an external
link
●
A pop-up screen appearing on a real Web site.
Rather, you should open another
browser window and straight away type the URL into the address bar in order to
ensure that the site is legitimate.
3. Don’t ever keep your financial
data on your laptops unless very necessary; laptops have far more probability
of being stolen than desktops.
Following the instructions mentioned
above will definitely help you avoid being a victim of cyber scam in the first
place. However, if you do realize that you’ve become a victim of such fraud or
cyber-crime, you need to report the same to proper authorities immediately.
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