The Age reported this month that losses to fake billing scams have increased 46% in 2018 from 2017. Read the full article here: ‘Sneakier and sneakier’: Fake invoice losses hit $4 million.
In the same article, Info-Organiser’s Managing Director, Harry Baruhas, was asked for an expert opinion and was quoted, ‘Baruhas says he’s always warning clients not to fall for such emails but says it’s tough because these operators are becoming “sneakier and sneakier”.’
The smart way to organise your email
With Info-Organiser’s Outlook module you can easily file and archive your emails into Info-Organiser’s searchable database. The benefits of using Info-Organiser to file emails are:
- Gives team access to emails that relate to client files, staff files, projects, accounts, etc instead of them being siloed in one inbox
- Saves you time searching through your Outlook inbox
- Prevents the stress of losing emails
- Allows emails to become part of a tailored search, such as client file, client number or date range search
- Enables Outlook to work better and faster
7 ways to tell if you receive a fake email
- Check senders email address – does it make sense or is it a random Hotmail/Gmail address or an address with an assortment of numbers and letters?
- Is there an unusual, misspelt or incorrect website url that does not match the business they claim to be?
- Is it a vendor you have done business with before? If yes, but you are still suspicious, it’s ok to call them and check.
- Is there incorrect grammar, spelling or punctuation? Or minimal content with a link?
- Check the logo – is it low resolution, altered in anyway or placed strangely within the email?
- If it’s a vendor you think you should trust, but still suspect a scam, do a Google search – type in a combination of ‘business name’ + ‘subject name’ + email + scam + news. Check the search results for discussion forums where a scam is mentioned.
- Go direct to the vendors website – often there will be an announcement on the news page or a designated ‘scam watch’ page where you can report that you have received a suspicious email.
Two good resources to bookmark and follow Socials are the ATO scam alerts page https://www.ato.gov.au/General/Online-services/Identity-security/Scam-alerts/ and ACCC Scamwatch https://www.scamwatch.gov.au/
Be email savvy – remember these 5 rules
Email is a vital part of our business productivity. Ensure you are smart and savvy with your email management with these five rules:
- If in doubt, delete!
- If you do click a link, then realise after the fact that it’s a scam, do a screen shot and send it to your IT company, or call them straight away. Do not forward the email.
- Ensure you have a robust and current virus protection
- Install an email filter service like Mailguard or Manage Protect – talk to us to set you up
- Keep your operating system and MS Outlook up to date with latest upgrades
Want even faster email filing?
For smarter and faster email workflow, consider installing Info-Organiser’s Auto-email archiving module. The Auto-email module is part of our advanced workflow features. Organise a demo today.