Stay Safe Working From Home

With the increase of people working from home we are seeing an increase in scams and phishing as criminals take advantage of the disruption. 
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau says it has recorded over 200 cases of fraudulent emails being sent, which include scammers who:

• pretend to be from the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention or World Health Organization, asking recipients to click a link to report active infections in their area
• offer links to a fake daily newsletter for Covid-19 updates
• offer fake insurance schemes and trading advice
• pretend to be from the government, offering tax refunds

Not to mention that working from home puts businesses at a higher risk for cyber attack.  Home internet networks have little firewall and intrusion protection than company networks, combine that with phishing and other scams, businesses are at higher risk than ever.

Here are YEO’s tips to protect yourself from phishing scams online.

• Make sure you know who the email is from before opening. If you are suspicious, do not open it and do not respond. Do you have an account with the sender? If no, then most likely it is a phishing scam.
• Do not click on links listed in these emails and do not click to open any attachments 
• Do not enter any personal information into a pop-up screen. Legitimate companies, agencies, and organisations don’t ask for personal information on a pop-up screen.
• If you suspect a phishing email you can report it to spam@uce.gov
• Sign up to YEO which allows you to connect with businesses via a verified channel, completely illuminating the issue of phishing.