Issue #70 - This is NOT a scam! ⚠
SME owner scammed for £1.6m | Phishing, Smishing, and Vishing Scams | How to tell if you're business has been hacked | Join our community | Words | Tunes | More
🦾 GO
Hitting the hammer on scammers 🔨
Welcome to Issue #70 of The Backbone - the fortnightly newsletter from Bionic.
This isn’t a fake newsletter, and we’re not hackers - but could you catch us out if we were?
Every penny counts for households and businesses right now. Even with inflation falling, prices are still high and the cost-of-living crisis is showing no signs of letting up.
The last thing anyone needs is to lose money to scammers and fraudsters. But when times are tough, scammers thrive as it’s easier to catch people off-guard.
During the pandemic, criminals used Covid-19 to target victims online, through impersonation scams, romance fraud and investment scams. And although the number of cyber attacks on businesses has dropped over the last couple of years (down from 46% in 2020 to 39% in 2022), we all need to be on our guard.
Anyone can be scammed. Take Steve Wright, the small business owner who had 1.6m stolen from him in barely 20 minutes.
You might be thinking Steve must be an idiot. But neither Steve nor the employee who was tricked into giving thieves access to his company account through an authorised push payment (APP) scam, are idiots. If you’re caught off-guard, it’s amazing how easily you can be tricked. Scammers just need to push the right buttons.
If you think you’re business is too small to be a target, think again. 38% of UK micro and small businesses were hacked in 2022.
And scams are becoming more and more sophisticated - they’ve come a long way from the dodgy emails from ‘princes’ in far-off countries offering money in exchange for bank details. Throw AI into the mix, and they’re getting even harder to spot. So, if you haven’t thought about cyber security measures and training for your business – now is as good a time as any.
Phone fraud is still the most popular type of scam. And since we’re glued to them most of the time - here are some quick tips to be aware of this Autumn...
Vishing phone scams are on the rise – always verify who you’re speaking to!
Energy scams are popular in the winter months - be aware of ‘too good to be true’ rates
Banks, law enforcement, brokers, suppliers and more will never ask you to transfer money over the phone
You can read more in our report on the UK’s biggest phone scams in 2022. And if that’s not enough - here are some free online talks and workshops:
Cyber Hygiene: Small Business Edition | Saturday, October 28 - 19:00
Cyber Security Risk Management Workshop | Monday, December 18 - 10:00
In this issue, we’ve pulled together everything we've got on scams including common phishing techniques so you can spot if you’ve got a scammer on the line – and hang up!
And don’t forget to join fellow business owners in The Small Business Hub - our new community for busy business owners. Now, before we get started, here’s a joke you’ll be telling everyone this week 👇
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🤝 COMMUNITY
Exclusive access to the Small Business Hub 🗣
The Bionic Small Business Hub is a place where small business owners can chat, share advice and help each other through the lows and highs of running a business. To join, all we need is your business email address (we won’t use it for anything else) and we’ll send you an invite. Be the first to get involved 👇
🗞 READ
What are Phishing, Smishing, and Vishing Scams? 🤨
Scammers are clever. They’re professional con artists, always coming up with new ways to get their hands on your information, or worse your money. And it’s not just those who are out of touch with technology who are at risk of falling prey to a scam attack.
One click on a dodgy link could put your business at risk.
So avoid becoming a victim and clue up on how to spot the latest phishing scams. Not to be confused with fishing scams (but never take the bait). 🐟
How to tell if your business has been hacked 👾
Having your security hacked can be a stressful experience. But when you run a business, it can be twice as traumatic as hackers can gain access to customer details and personal information. This can have a negative effect on your reputation and customer base.
Hackers also have the potential to meddle with your finances, impersonate your business and cause lasting damage. So, to help you keep savvy online, here’s how to spot and avoid cyber attacks and online scammers.
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🗣 SHOUTOUT
#BionicBusinessStory - 5 businesses, 1 question 🤔
A study from BT has found that a quarter (25%) of small business owners use organic/non-paid social media to increase income, and 22% use paid social media posts. We got the thoughts of five micro business owners.
Bionic - How do you use social media to boost awareness of your business?
🙂 “I handpick the influencers I work with. It was tough in the beginning as I didn’t really know what kind of audience to target, I knew I wanted all the clothing to be organic and that can be a bit more expensive. It was all a little bit of a risk, but it paid off as it became more popular.” Jo Tiller, The Social Club
🎄 “We use social media but admittedly we post less now we have more of a following. We use Google ads, Instagram and Facebook. But our biggest marketing avenue would be the community and word of mouth. People come back each year and bring the next generations of their families.” Jullian Hitch, Magic of Forresters Christmas Trees
👻 “Ah social media, I wish I could be better at it! We have seven channels for different parts of the business and it’s just so time-consuming. It’s easy to let it slip when the business is doing well, or tours are selling out. But I’ve started capturing pictures and videos of events and locations, as well as 360 videos which I want to start doing something with on our social channels.” Jonathon Frost, Dark Encounters Ghost Tours
🏰 “When we did Halloween Scream last year, there was some overlap with our existing visitors. The target audience for the Halloween event was largely new to us, so the demographic and interest was quite different. As a result, we had to test new marketing channels not previously used by Hever Castle. In general, we’ve now been trying more digital, social media-heavy avenues, but we’re also advertising on buses. We’ve added Snapchat and TikTok advertising campaigns to the mix to reach a younger local audience too.” Jess Cutts, Hever Castle Events
🏴☠️ “My colleague Gemma does a lot of our social media, she’s the queen of Twitter. I also advertise over Facebook when I can. Last year Jamaica Inn was featured in ‘Haunted’ magazine, and there was a five-page article I wrote up about what we do. It really is a privilege to go to the locations and have the trust to explore these historic venues.” Karen Beasant, Jamacia Inn Paranormal Investigations
Want to read more small business stories? Head over to Bionic 🦾
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🦾 BIONIC
Bionic - the business price comparison expert - compares a range of business essentials to help you save time, money, and hassle.
Our tech-enabled team will answer all your questions in simple terms, and help you find the best deal on business energy, insurance, phone, broadband, or finance. No jargon. No-fuss. #BeABionicBusiness 🦾
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🎧 LISTEN
Playlist 🎶
Keeping in with the theme, this week we’ve got a playlist by German electronic musician - Scammacist, a producer that specialises in ambient soundscapes and punchy beats. A great listen for an evening unwinding. Give it a whirl.
Podcast 🎙
Imagine getting a phone call from your child asking for money - and it turns out to be an AI scam! It’s a scary thought. The Perfect Scam is a podcast by host Bob Sullivan who breaks down some of the biggest scams, explores scam techniques and interviews cyber security experts.
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🏡 HOUSEKEEPING
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🚫 STOP
Thanks for making it to the end of another Bionic small business bulletin 🤝🏻
Carry on the conversation at our Bionic socials 🤳
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