Preventing Business Fraud During Coronavirus Uncertainty

As easy as it might feel to give in to the anxiety of coronavirus, business owners have more power than they might realize right now. This is an unprecedented time for business owners to learn more about their employees, customers, and the wider economy. It’s an unplanned social experiment that can reveal underlying truths that will catapult your company to new heights. There’s just one catch though: you may have to adjust how you combat business fraud. Learn more about how you can protect yourself during this pandemic.

New Opportunities

With more people working from home than ever before, cyber hackers can now hone in on their targets through new forms of social phishing. Despite preventative measures like VPNs and updated firewalls, businesses can’t account for every variable when employees work from home (at least, not when coronavirus has caused such a fast transition).

The most obvious attempts so far have involved email kits that compile real information on COVID-19 but also contain malicious links for people to click on. Criminals have also been attempting to collect financial and personal data by pretending to be an official from the World Health Organization or the Center for Disease Control. These emails request password information as well as cryptocurrency to fund fake endeavors. This can ultimately lead to additional information requests that can put a business at risk.

The Implications and Possibilities

Businesses, employees, and the everyday-consumer have a difficult time fending off advanced hacking tactics. (That’s why you see major businesses like T-Mobile and Target make major headlines when customer data is breached.) In the time of coronavirus, criminals are going after any sensitive data they can find. So while they may not be specifically after your business’ proprietary data, they may just stumble across it anyway. But while the opportunities for criminals have clearly been wedged open, so too have the opportunities for businesses to step up their security.

Taking the Lead

Instead of taking chances with your virtual treasure trove of data, Microbilt can help you vastly reduce your odds of being the victim of fraud with the following products:

• ID Verify: It gives you and your employees an automatic score that calculates fraudulence risk based on multiple data sources.
• Watchlist Search: The Office of Foreign Assets Control has a watchlist that compiles known threats to businesses and consumers.
• ID Authenticate: Ask the questions of contacts (via calls and virtual transactions) that only they will know the answers to.
• Instant Bank Verification (IBV): This know-your-customer tool assesses their ability to pay for a product or service.
• iPredict: This screening tool allows you to assess a person’s credit based on numerous data sets for more accurate results.

One of the most important ways to reduce fraud risk is for employees to be aware — regardless of whether they’re at home or in the office. Hackers count on tired or distracted employees to click on any link that comes their way. Having the right security tools can go a long way to keeping your revenue safe.

Originally published at https://www.microbilt.com.