These are just two examples of the many ways phishing scams can be conducted. It’s important to educate your employees on how convincing some of these hackers’ attempts can be.

To reduce the risk of your small business falling victim to phishing scams, educate your employees on how to avoid falling for one with these tips:

• Be cautious when opening or responding to communications from a name you don’t recognize. Some examples of communications may include an email, or text message. Look closely for inaccuracies in the sender’s email address or name. Talk to your IT support team about other phishing risks.
• Do not click on unrecognized links in unsolicited emails or messages. Hover your mouse over hyperlinks to closely examine the link destination before clicking. Hackers are very talented at creating URLs that look like websites you visit. Call the contact in the email from a number you have on file to verify they sent you the email.
• Think twice about responding to emails or messages that are of an urgent nature or have an immediate deadline. These emails may threaten to “Close Your Account!” or claim that “Your Account Has Been Compromised!” Legitimate businesses rarely use such an alarming tone.
• Do not share your login credentials. Legitimate companies will never ask you to send them your login or account information. They should already have your information on file in their systems.
• Alert your staff. If you receive an email with any of these suspicious elements, tell your staff. Advise them to delete any similar emails they may receive. But, don’t forward the email to them. This can spread the problem.

4. Consider Purchasing Cyber Liability Insurance

Generally, your commercial general liability policy will not cover a data breach. And, as data breaches have increased, so has their cost of businesses. 

Imagine if a client's personal or financial information is stolen from your network – you may be responsible! Consider the cost of losing all the credit card numbers in your business’s database, not to mention the cost to your business’s reputation.

At Auto-Owners, we offer cyber liability insurance packages that include coverages like:

• The disclosure of private information
• Transmission of a computer virus
• Extortion payments and rewards (typically involving ransomware)
• Computer and funds-transfer fraud

The size of your business does not affect the type or amount of coverage provided by Auto-Owners. Cyber liability insurance is coverage you want to have before a data breach occurs. The Della Porta Group can work with you to design a plan that fits your business’s needs and potential risks.

Disclaimer: The analysis of coverage is in general terms and is superseded in all respects by the Insuring Agreements, Endorsements, Exclusions, Terms and Conditions of the Policy. Some of the coverage mentioned in this material may not be applicable in all states or may have to be modified to conform to applicable state law. Some coverages may have been eliminated or modified since the publishing of this material. Please check with your local Independent Auto-Owners Insurance Agent for details.

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