Why you are right to be paranoid

Every day we are being bombarded by scammers trying to steal our personal information and money. Here are some ways to protect yourself, your staff and your business.

The scams that are really testing the business community are data breaches, redirection of funds and the theft of intellectual property and personal information of clients and staff and jobs and employment scams.

We’re in the middle of Scams Awareness Week so let’s talk all things scams!

The current landscape for scammers is ripe, and it isn’t just email. People are also being inundated with false text messages and phone calls all aimed at catching out the unwary.

The “Tax Office” and the “Federal Police” have apparently been trying to serve arrest warrants on me for months now and “Australia Post” is lining up to send me parcels I never ordered if I just pay the outstanding tax fees. I have a few unexpected inheritances from countries I have never been to just waiting on a couple of minor payments before I receive my bequeathed fortune, which I can then invest in some ‘never before shared’ cryptocurrency opportunities favoured by the rich and famous!

On an almost daily basis, we’re seeing all types of scams that are primarily aimed at the theft of personally identifiable information and gaining a financial benefit. These days, scams range across the COVID pandemic, buying and selling, dating and romance, fake charities, investment, jobs and employment, unexpected windfalls – such as an ‘inheritance’, rebate scams, even threats and extortion.

BDO partner Stan Gallo.

The scams that are really testing the business community are data breaches, redirection of funds and the theft of intellectual property and personal information of clients and staff and jobs and employment scams.

Aside from the obvious financial losses incurred when business are successfully scammed, there are also other indirect impacts that are just as significant. The reputational and emotional toll inflicted on owners and staff alike can be just as devastating.

So, how do you avoid scams? The first port of call for the majority of defence options is beefing up perimeter security – patches, settings, software and hardware filtering products, sandboxes and Security Information & Event Management Systems. Yet one of the most effective security systems is often overlooked – and that is the ‘Human Firewall’. Scams are invariably aimed at people, and beefing up your people defence mechanism, such as staff training and education programs, is both cost effective and a sound investment. Making it personal for staff takes scam awareness to a whole new level.

I encourage you to have the conversations and share experiences. You may well be surprised at how many others have been in the same boat, and for those that haven’t, you may just save them the trouble!

Stan Gallo is a forensic services partner at BDO in Brisbane.