Cybersecurity Tips

by Richard Gaynor, Middleton & Company Insurance

This Holiday season has seen an increase in E-Commerce and with it, CyberCriminals are seizing the opportunity to “get in on the action”$$! They want to Lockup your computer and hold it for ransom; Trick and deceive you to give them your valuable information that they can monetize; make you believe that they are your friend, family, neighbors, business associates, someone you know, someone you want to know, someone you should know and then have you give them your valuables, confidential information and money!

The Internet Crime Complaint Center of the FBI (IC3) averages 440,000 reported complaints of cybercrime per year—and the number of unreported crimes is higher. In 2020 the number of complaints to IC3 shot up to an astounding 791,790, with victim-reported losses totaling $4.2 billion. These are only the “reported” numbers.

“Small business” is the top target of CyberCriminals. As of 2022, there are 33.2 million small businesses in the US which account for 99.9% of all US businesses. Small businesses account for 46.4% of jobs in the US AND 43.5% of the US Gross Domestic Product(GDP). That is a BIG Target!

• Look for misspelled words and poor grammar. E-mails from legitimate businesses should look professional and they will have been spellchecked before sending. Spelling and grammatical errors are warning signs of a bogus e-mail.

• Do not respond to scare tactics. A common phishing tactic is to warn you that “your account will be closed,” “your account has been compromised,” or “we have been urgently trying to contact you.”

• Be wary of e-mails advising “information about your order” or “we are trying to deliver your package.” It’s not uncommon for these e-mails to appear to come from FedEx or Amazon. If you are concerned about a legitimate order, you can check your order status directly with the source or verify status with a tracking code provided by the (real) vendor.

• When in doubt, call the sender first to verify that the e-mail is legitimate. It may seem strange that your boss is sending you an e-mail with the subject line “this is cool” or “great weight loss program,”—but it is from your boss. . . or is it? (Mother? Father? Family member? Business associate? Friend?) When in doubt… Delete and CALL!

• Don’t click on links that you don’t recognize. Try hovering your cursor over the URL—if the actual hyperlink address is different than the address provided—it’s a scam.

• Double-check the sender’s address. On first look, it may look like a legitimate address—but on closer inspection you may notice that it is spelled slightly different or appears “off” in some way. Some e-mail programs also enable the receiver to hover the cursor over an e-mail sender’s information and will show the real sender’s address. For example, you may hover over “mom@gmail” and see an unrecognizable address. Remember, however, if mom’s e-mail has been spoofed, the address may appear legitimate.

• Do not respond to e-mails that ask you to update your password, account number, or personal information. These e-mails may appear to be from your bank, e-Bay, PayPal, or even the IRS. Legitimate businesses should never request that confidential information be sent or “updated” in an e-mail—and any links to the “bank” included in the e-mail are most likely fake.

• Don’t open e-mails that purport to be from a business but come from a web-based free e-mail account. For example, Amazon customer service will not send an e-mail from: amazoncustomerservice@gmail.com.

• If it sounds too good to be true— avoid it! Unfortunately, you probably don’t have a distant rich relative that left you millions, you didn’t win the Costa Rican lottery (did you even buy a ticket?), and the king of a tiny country is not trying to give you money.

Unfortunately we will all be targeted by CyberCriminals multiple times on our Cell Phones, Email, Computers, VOIP Phones, & Laptops. We therefore strongly recommend all businesses to purchase Cyber Insurance. Cyber Insurance companies offer immediate advise, forensic specialists, governmental regulation compliance, payment of fees, penalties, repair costs, lawsuits and more.

In 1979 Richard Gaynor joined Middleton & Company Insurance Agency after graduating The College of New Jersey/Trenton State, creating and marketing a variety of specialized insurance programs. Richard joined the Boards of many industry Associations. He attended most meetings and acquired a keen understanding of the protection needs and issues that each association faced. Richard assumed the presidency of Middleton & Company in 1995, continuing the commitment to provide business solutions to clients while maintaining strong profitable growth.