How secure are your business assets? According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), companies with less than 100 employees lose an average of $155,000 a year to fraud. Small businesses also have a higher fraud rate than larger firms and non-business owners.
Don’t be a victim! To help protect your business against losses from scam artists and cybercriminals, security experts recommend taking these precautions.
- 1. Separate personal banking and credit cards from your business accounts to ensure that scam artists don’t get their hands on all your money; this will also make it easier to track business expenses and tax deductions. Pay bills online or make sure to store paper bills securely.
- Invest in a firewall as well as anti-virus protection, and spyware- malware detection software Provide offsite backup to keep your business up and running after a cyberattack.
- Secure your IT infrastructure by using a dedicated computer for all online financial transactions. If possible, avoid using it for other online activities (such as social media, email and web-surfing) which can open the system to cyberthieves.
- Make sure that passwords are complex (with one upper-case letter, one number and at least eight characters), have them changed regularly, and assign different passwords for separate accounts.
- Hold regular training sessions for all staff on basic security threats and prevention measures.
- Use background checks for all employees who handle cash or high-value merchandise or have access to sensitive data.
- Buy insurance to protect your small business against losses from fraud or cybercrime.
We’d be happy to tailor coverage to your needs – at a price you can afford. Just give us a call.
