Fake Scanner Emails Infect Office Computers

You are at work, and you receive a message from what you think is your office printer/scanner. It appears that someone sent you a copy of a scanned document.  The name doesn't ring a bell, but you open the attachment anyway.

When you click on the file, you find that it isn't a scanned copy of the latest office report. It’s really a link to a third-party website that will download a virus to your computer.  These viruses phish for personal and banking information on your machine. 

The settings in the email header have been faked, so the messages appear to come from an internal email address. However, with so many workplaces failing to set strong passwords, it is possible that your scanner was hacked.

As always, variations of the scam exist. Most recently, scammers have disguised malware as emails from Hewlett-Packer and Xerox scanners. But scammers will hijack any famous manufacturer’s name to lend credibility to their scam.

NOTE: Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Microsoft are BBB Accredited Businesses. Hewlett-Packard is also a BBB National Partner.

How Do I Protect My Work Computer From Viruses: 

While your work computer is not your personal property, downloading a virus is great way to ruin your work day. Here are tips for protecting your office computer:

• Create strong passwords. Don’t leave the factory presets or use easy to crack passwords. See Microsoft’s tips for creating strong passwords.
• Don’t believe what you see. Scammers can make emails appear to come from an account at your office. Just because it’s an “@yourbusiness.com” address does not mean it’s safe.
• Be wary of unexpected emails that contain links or attachments. Do not click on the links or open the files.
• Beware of pop-ups. Some pop-ups are designed to look like they’ve originated from your computer. If you see a pop-up that looks like an anti-virus software but warns of a problem that needs to be fixed with an extreme level of urgency, it may be a scam.
• Keep anti-spyware, anti-virus and anti-spam software up to date.  Your office’s IT department probably has your computer programmed to conduct regular scans and updates. Let these run as planned.

Have you received an email like this?

Important Tips for Businesses Regarding Checks

A BBB-accredited ad agency in San Antonio, TX recently discovered that bogus checks claiming to be from their company were being used in an over payment/money wiring scam. The checks looked very professional, with the company name and actual routing and account numbers.

People who answered work-at-home want ads on Craigslist were caught up in the scheme. One woman was asked to send out fake checks on behalf of the scammers and was paid by Western Union. When she noticed the Western Union payment was in someone else’s name, she called the real ad agency and asked, “Am I working for you?” The answer was “no.”

She had already sent out 200 bogus checks.

According to the ad agency, the scammers somehow intercepted a check that was sent to a client. They knew something was wrong when someone tried to cash it in another state. Scammers “washed” the check and used it as a template for numerous fake checks in the ad agency’s name.

Which brings up some important tips for businesses regarding checks:

• Monitor your accounts payable. Stop payment on the check and send out another one if too much time goes by and the check appears to be “lost.”
• Use tamper resistant checks. Checks with security features make it harder for crooks who may intercept them to counterfeit or alter them.
• Keep track of check orders. Notify your check supplier and bank if you order checks that don’t arrive in a reasonable amount of time.
• Keep checks secured. Keep reserve supplies of checks, deposit slips and other banking documents locked up and limit the number of people who can access them. 
• Keep your eye on the ball. Don’t leave checks or other bank records unattended while you serve customers. Someone might take them while you aren’t looking.

Spring Cleaning? What to Keep and What to Shred

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) says it can’t tell you when it is safe to throw away financial documents, but they do say to keep the information as long as the IRS can assess you additional taxes. Right now, that is approximately seven years. Laws change. Always check with your CPA for the latest laws.

Here are some guidelines:

Credit card statements:
Credit card statements with no tax or other long-term significance can be discarded after one year; remaining statements should be kept for up to seven years. If a consumer receives a detailed annual statement, they should keep it and shred the corresponding monthly statements.

Bank account statements:
Check with your financial institution to determine how far back they keep statements available to you.

Canceled checks:
If purchases are tax related, keep canceled checks seven years. If they are related to your house purchase, renovations, or big items that you purchased, keep them indefinitely. Canceled checks that support tax returns, such as charitable contributions or tax payments, should be held for at least seven years. By the way, banks are required to keep copies of checks for seven years.

Deposit, ATM, credit card, and debit card receipts:
Consumers should save credit, debit, and ATM receipts until the transaction appears on their statement and they have verified that the information is accurate. If it is for a big item and it has a warranty, save the receipt at least until the warranty is up. You might want to save it longer for insurance and/or IRS reasons, if there is a disaster.

Credit card contracts and other loan agreements:
Credit card contracts and loan agreements should be kept for as long as the account is active in case the consumer has a dispute with their lender over the terms of the contract.

Documentation of a purchase or sale of stocks, bonds, and other investments:
Investors should retain documentation of a purchase or sale for as long as they own the investment and then seven years beyond that time. Monthly retirement and monthly investment account statements can be shredded annually after being reconciled with the year-end statement.

Paycheck stubs:
Paycheck stubs can be shredded yearly after the income has been reconciled with a W-2 or other tax forms.

Utility or monthly bills:
Monthly bills should be shredded the year after being received by the consumer. This way, if it’s a power bill, for example, consumers can compare this month’s bill to last year’s bill for any major changes before shredding it.

Electronic Records:
Make sure you back up your data. Technology is always changing. Make sure you are using a method that allows the information to be retrieved.