Unfortunately, fraudulent emails are something that we are all likely to come across at some point.

In fact, the methods that fraudsters are using to target people have seen a substantial increase in recent years.

It is important to be aware that your business could fall victim to a scam, with the potential of scammers going to the effort to pose as your business in order to trick employees into revealing personal information.

According to new research from OpenText Solution (a cyber security firm), on average, businesses have been targeted 28 times by cyber threats over the past year.

The research also revealed the worrying information that 42 per cent of UK employees are unable to identify fraudulent emails that appear to be from the Royal Mail.

With this rising number of threats, if staff do not have sufficient training on recognising scam emails, the security of your business’ data can be put at serious risk.

OpenText Solution recognised this lack of knowledge as a notable issue, with the majority of employees in the survey (60 per cent) not being aware of cyber security jargon, such as ‘BEC’ (referring to ‘business email compromise’).

Top tips for recognising scams

Alongside having the relevant training on cyber security threats and how to respond to them, it may be useful to remind individuals how to recognise generic scams.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has offered some valuable advice on what to be wary of, including:

• An unknown sender requesting personal information (such as bank details)
• Correspondence demanding you to transfer money or enter card details
• Unexpected messages offering a refund, tax rebate, or grant

It is imperative to be vigilant when it comes to virtual correspondence; for instance, it may be possible to recognise a scam from company names being misspelt and differences in logos.

If you are considering increasing the level of employee training to account for the increased cyber security threats, it may be worthwhile to seek advice on how to factor this into your business’ finances.

Need support with organising your business’ finances? Contact our experts today.