Hey Sellers,
Today we’re looking at keeping your business safe online from phishing attacks, with an article from CNBC reporting on an increase in scammers targeting small business owners through social media. I’d love to hear your experiences on this.
CNBC: Phishing scams targeting small business on social media are a ‘gold mine’ for criminals
The article explains that online phishing scams against businesses are on the rise because they are seen as easy targets who don’t have the resources to fight back, and are more likely to pay to get their accounts back. Having your social media and other online credentials being stolen can be absolutely devastating for a business. Losing your accounts can directly lead to a loss of income, since it’s a major marketing and even sales channel. Even more, these scammers often ask for a ransom, and demand you pay to get your account back.
The article details some of the most common scams, and how to avoid them. It also recommends businesses put a greater emphasis on cybersecurity by enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), and using different strong passwords for separate accounts.
Luckily we never experienced any online scams when I ran my shop. We definitely weren’t careful enough with creating unique and ultra-secure passwords for everything, which we absolutely should have, and got very lucky to not have had any issues. We really relied so much on our social media accounts for gaining and marketing to our customer base, and I can’t imagine what we would have done if those accounts were compromised. I don’t think we would have paid a ransom, but it would have been devastating to have to start over.
What’s your perspective:
- Have you experienced any phishing or other scam attempts?
- How do you keep your business safe online?
P.S: If you haven’t already, don’t forget to enable two-step verification on your Square account. You can find more helpful resources on how to protect your business from scams and fraud in our Support Center.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso
