Unfortunately, we see a lot of phishing scams in our line of work. We frequently get concerned phone calls and emails from clients, worried that they are about to be sued over a copyright infringement or that their domain is about to expire unless they send payments immediately. The worrisome thing about these types of scams is how legitimate they appear to be and how frequently people believe they must take action and do what is being demanded of them. So how do you protect yourself and your company from becoming a victim of these sly internet scams? Here are a few tips.

Vigilant Inspection

When you receive any kind of email from an unknown sender demanding payment or asking you to follow a link, stop yourself before you make any decisions. Carefully look through the body of the message for any kind of grammar issues, spelling mistakes, or unusual salutations, all of which are common with phishing scams. Don’t ever click on a link from an unknown sender and instead, inspect the link ahead of time. You can do this by copying and pasting the link into a link inspector online, which ought to let you know whether it’s safe. Want to test out a link? Check out the Kaspersky Threat Intelligence Portal here: https://opentip.kaspersky.com/

Communication and Training

Increased communication within the workplace can go a long way towards avoiding internet scams. Arranging security trainings for your staff is a helpful way to keep everyone in the loop and help identify when a suspicious email comes their way. Additional security steps can be set in place, including reputable anti-virus software that automatically updates its database and implementing two-factor authentication whenever possible. And don’t forget to change passwords and delete email accounts after every employee turnover to ensure your information is always protected.

Having a Trustworthy Team

When we build a custom web design and handle marketing for our clients, they come to rely on our hard-working team to help navigate the unexpected issues that can arise. We’re grateful that many of our clients have chosen to consult us first regarding suspicious emails before responding to their calls to action. We like to remind everyone we work with that if an email is demanding immediate payment without any kind of prior notice, they should be on guard and take steps to investigate the claim safely before responding.

Final Advice

Most businesses want to keep their clients happy so they continue using the service. If you’re paying for any kind of subscription and coming up on a deadline, it’s common for you to receive advance notice of payment due. For instance, have you ever received an email stating that your domain will expire that day unless you pay? There’s something fishy here! Use a reputable Whois Lookup such as https://www.gkg.net/whois to learn precisely when your domain is set to expire or reach out to your webmaster directly and check in with them. Trust your gut and stay vigilant!

Feeling unsure about a communication you’ve received recently? Send it to us! We’re more than an Asheville custom web design builder; we’re an excellent support team focused on helping our clients grow their businesses safely and successfully. We’d love to hear from you!