Scam warning for Small Businesses

   

Scottish business network, Business Buzz, is issuing a warning to businesses owners to be on their guard against a new "phishing" scam which is currently being targeted at small businesses.

"Phishing" refers to attempts to gain access to sensitive details such as passwords and bank account details, and has become more prevalent since the advent of online banking.

The latest scam revolves around an email entitled "Photo approval", which purports to be from a publication claiming to have been sent a photograph of the recipient which they would like to use in a forthcoming article. A copy of this photo is attached for the recipients approval, however, if opened, the attachment could release a virus, allowing the senders of this email to access passwords and other information stored on the computer.

"A number of our members have reported receiving this email," commented Barry Hynd of Business Buzz. "Luckily no harm has been done, but we would advise other business owners to be on their guard against this type of scam, which clearly has the potential to cause a great deal of damage."

In order to protect your business from "phishing", Business Buzz recommend the following steps:

Never click on links within emails
Even if the source of the email appears to be a large or well-established company, it’s safer to type the website address directly into your browser and then look for the information you need than to click on a hyperlink in an email.

Don't open suspect attachments
Viruses are commonly spread through email attachments. Don't open attachments from unknown sources to reduce the risk. Attachments ending in the suffiec .exe should be treated with particular suspicion as these will run programs on your computer when opened.

Use a spam filter
Many fraudulent emails are "spam" (unsolicited commercial email) and can therefore be detected by anti-spam software before they even reach your inbox.

Make sure your virus protection is up to date
In the event that you do unwittingly open a suspect email, you'll stand a better chance of being protected against any viruses if your anti-virus software is up to date. A personal firewall will add extra protection.

For more information visit the Business Buzz forum at http://www.businessbuzz.org