{"id":4830,"date":"2020-12-08T12:51:23","date_gmt":"2020-12-08T12:51:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clickceasebiz.com\/blog\/?p=4830"},"modified":"2023-12-14T11:37:55","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T11:37:55","slug":"cyber-crimes-and-digital-fraud-affecting-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clickcease.com\/blog\/cyber-crimes-and-digital-fraud-affecting-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyber Crimes and Digital Fraud Affecting Business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The internet has opened up business for all, making it simple to start selling wherever you are in the world. However, the problem with doing business online is the increased exposure to cyber crime and digital fraud. It\u2019s one of the great dilemmas of our age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, we don\u2019t believe that potential exposure to digital fraud or other types of cyber crime is a reason to neglect your online presence. By being aware of the main types of digital fraud and electronic crime, you can minimise your chances of exposure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is cyber crime? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Broadly speaking, cyber crime is any illegal activity using digital devices to defraud, steal from, or exploit another person or business.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can involve infecting a computer or cell phone to steal data or track behaviour without the user’s knowledge. It can also involve communication designed to trick a user into transferring data or money to the fraudster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also a number of fraudulent actions that can cost business money without directly accessing any of their devices. As a business owner or marketer, being aware of the threats and how to avoid exposure to them is the best way to minimise your chances of being defrauded online.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does online fraud and cyber crime work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To perform a cyber crime, a criminal usually needs some form of access to a device or group of devices owned by their target. This is usually where viruses, Trojans, and other vectors come into play.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With access to a number of infected devices, fraudsters can perform relatively simple actions such as monitoring behaviour through hijacking your data or even stealing your marketing spend.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viruses and Trojans are usually distributed via infected software, email attachments and downloads. It\u2019s a broad subject, but you can read more about how viruses and digital infections work here<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main types of cyber crime<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t an exhaustive list of cyber crime methods, yet it covers the main threats posed to small to mid-sized businesses worldwide.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phishing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"phishing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There are a lot of fish in the sea, and it just takes one bite, and you\u2019ve got a good meal. That’s the theory behind phishing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By using emails, text messages, instant messages, social media messages, and other direct communications, phishing scammers hope to get the details of anything from your bank account to your email logins or social security details. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this access, they can then take money from bank accounts or use your personal data for any other means. There is also the advanced fee scam, where fraudsters coax money out of you, often with the promise of a bigger return – too good to be true springs to mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most people are savvy to phishing scams, but it just takes one careless lapse of attention, and you could see your bank account emptied. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to avoid the phishing scam?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The best way to avoid phishing is to avoid responding to messages demanding action directly from the message. If there is a genuine alert, contact the company in question directly. Say, for example, the bank contacts you to inform you of suspicious activity on your account, call or DM them, and go through their security verification channels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, if someone you\u2019ve never met before contacts you, offering something that\u2019s too good to be true, it probably is. The 419 scam, aka the Nigerian Prince scam, is a prime example of this. Ten million dollars to share, if only you\u2019ll give them your bank details? Hmmm…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Ransomware<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A form of malware, ransomware is used by fraudsters to limit access to your digital devices. By encrypting the data on your data servers and company computers, fraudsters can then demand a payout to release them back to you. Sounds far-fetched? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware is one of the fastest-growing forms of cyber crime and is estimated to account for $20 billion in lost revenue in 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might think that ransomware attacks might only affect big corporates. In fact, ransomware attacks in 2020 closed down public libraries, car parts suppliers in Germany, Australian logistics companies, and local government offices in countries all around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is money, there is a potential target for a ransomware attack. Fraudsters don’t care who their target might be – money is money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to avoid ransomware?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The most common delivery method for a ransomware attack is a Trojan, often sent as an infected download via email. Being wary of what you\u2019re downloading and avoiding clicking anything you\u2019re not expecting is the best way to avoid inadvertently installing ransomware malware on your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, if you\u2019re operating a mid to large-sized business with multiple computers, you\u2019ll need to improve awareness of the threat across the board. There is also software to help prevent ransomware attacks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data theft<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Data<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another major headache for any business is having the details of their customers and clients stolen by fraudsters. New laws such as GDPR aim to protect data security, and using encrypted cloud-based servers can help. But data theft remains a major form of cyber crime in 2020.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent years there have been some high-profile cases of data theft, including from Yahoo, Adobe, several adult dating sites, and eBay. Again, data theft doesn\u2019t just affect big corporates but can be a huge problem for SMEs too. In fact, 60% of small businesses affected by a data breach go out of business within a year.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to avoid data theft?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

There are a number of processes that businesses should put in place to minimise their potential to suffer from data theft.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First is to use hard-to-crack passwords and avoid using the same password for every site you use. Especially the sensitive ones such as bank accounts or anything with client details and records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses should also use encrypted systems for their sensitive data and be careful about who gets access to sensitive data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click fraud<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"managing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This form of fraud doesn\u2019t affect your digital network or devices but targets your marketing spend on programmatic advertising. For example, if you\u2019re running a PPC campaign on Google Ads<\/a>, business rivals or organised fraudsters can click your ads and cause you to exhaust your ad budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been shown that between 15% to 25% of all traffic on paid ads is from non-genuine sources, meaning that advertisers pay a substantial sum to fraud. In fact, in 2020, click fraud cost digital marketers at least $35 billion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click fraud is also referred to as invalid traffic, or IVT. The twin practice of ad fraud<\/a> is the more organised form of this common cyber crime, which often gets the headlines due to its bigger impact. You can find out more about click fraud in our guide<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incredibly, click fraud has overtaken credit card fraud as the biggest form of financial fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n