Fraud is something that can ruin small businesses that lack the financial capacity of deploying firewalls, monitoring systems, and hiring an IT team to protect their networks. Apart from dealing with loss of losing important data, they also have to deal with the threat of their bank accounts getting wiped off.
At least 10% of small businesses are victims to funds getting stolen from their bank accounts.
Till now small businesses have reported losses worth at least about $2 billion due to fraud.
Cyber hackers find it easy to target small businesses because of their lack of internal resources and security tools.That said security solutions may not be adequate enough to stop frauds from happening. What small businesses need is a multi-layered authentication approach that helps them protect their online, email, text, as well as telephone transactions.
No matter how many antivirus products come into the market, they cannot match the speed at which the tactics of criminals are evolving. Nevertheless, small businesses can still protect their IT networks by establishing proper policies and applying certain security measures. Here are a few strategies that small businesses can adopt:
Limiting the number of employees who can access accounts
Small businesses will have to make sure only their trusted employees can access their accounts. Any unauthorized access should be prevented by using proper measures.
Keeping firewalls up-to-date
This step will ensure none of their employees visit malicious sites or download malicious software programs from the internet.
Enforcing strict rules for office computers
Most small businesses have already taken the steps of stopping their employees from accessing their social media accounts and using chat tools from office computers. They need to make sure every employee of theirs understands these rules that they establish for office computers.
Dedicating one system only for online banking
By dedicating one computer for online banking small businesses can prevent a lot of frauds from happening. Care should be taken not to browse the web or use emails from that computer.
Necessitating multi-level approvals for each and every business transaction
This step will ensure the accuracy and authenticity of every transaction that happens in a small business. Apart from making it easy to detect and prevent frauds, this will also increase accountability among the employees.
Purchasing fraud insurance
By purchasing fraud insurance small businesses will be able to shoulder their losses with the insurance companies in case of any untoward incidents. This will give small business owners the peace of mind that they deserve.
Apart from the above, small businesses should also make it a habit to check their business accounts on a daily basis. Though a mundane task this will help keep track of the transactions and identify frauds without wasting much of time.
Small business owners can establish a few more such security policies by consulting with their business partners, vendors, and maybe even customers. Nevertheless, establishing such policies may not be good enough to prevent frauds, if they cannot control the online habits of their employees or anyone else who is connected to their network.
Installing an anti-fraud system that helps them monitor their systems in real time can be very beneficial for most small businesses. They can contact Yellowstone Capital in New York for any help with regard to finance.
