Public Service Announcement on Cyber Security

 September 2021

It is not a secret that cyber security attacks are on the rise. Here are a few tips from us to avoid becoming victim to one of the most dangerous and prevalent attacks affecting businesses today.

1. Never accept pay instruction changes via emails. Cyber criminals are intercepting emails between you and the companies/people you pay. They then use this information to request remittance changes (usually bank wire or ACH information), thereby getting you to send money to the wrong place. Further, these criminals have become smarter about hiding their fake email addresses.

2. If you get a change via email, call the contact you have in your records to confirm the change. NEVER call the number from the email because that number will be answered by the criminal.

3. Never click on links in emails from sources you don’t know. Most of the time these are phishing links, and they are scammers trying to gain access to your computer. They use this access to intercept emails for the purpose of planning this scam.

4. Always double check the email address if someone you know is asking you to resend personal information. It just might be a scammer using a similar email address as your contact with one letter off.

Scammers are more likely to target firms or people who have recently closed or are close to closing a big financial transaction. So be on the look out around that time.