Protect your business against scams

If an offer looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Always get independent advice if an offer involves a significant amount of money or time.

Never:

• send money, or give credit card or online account details, to anyone you don’t know and trust
• sign anything until you have read and understand all the terms and conditions.

For major purchases, take the contract with you overnight and think about asking your lawyer to check it.

Watch out for:

• phone, email or mail invitations, especially when they are convincing or use high-pressure tactics
• unexplained transactions—check your bank account and credit card statements. If you see a transaction you can't explain, report it to your bank.

Make time to check your invoices thoroughly. Make payments on a regular basis, rather than rush a payment through.

Keep your bank cards safe. Make sure only a couple of employees have access to business accounts.

Make clear policies about who is authorised to:

• pay bills
• order goods and services
• check and authorise payments.

Watch out for fraud

Be wary when:

• sellers demand quick payment
• a caller refuses to send you information, or delays doing so
• a caller tells you that someone else in your office approved a payment
• you don’t remember dealing with the caller before, but they insist you have.

Common scams that target businesses are ‘false billing scams'. Scammers ask for you to pay:

• invoices for fake directory listings
• advertising you did not ask for or which is placed where no one will see it
• domain name renewals for domains you didn’t ask for
• office supplies that you did not order.

Your business may receive a phone call or be sent an invoice, email or letter to be listed in a fake trade directory, renew your website domain name or to confirm details of a fake advertisement booking. Some email-based ransomware scams use fake bills as attachments to infect your computer.

For more information on false billing scams, visit the SCAMwatch website.

Online security

Make sure your business and customer details are safe online.

Use the right security software to:

• help protect your private information
• prevent fraud.

Read more about how to make your workplace secure on the Australian Cyber Security Centre website and see a list of alerts and advisories, where you can sign up for alerts about new threats.