“I’m caught in a meeting and I don’t have time to talk right now, but I need you to do something. I need you to pay this bill or transfer money to this vendor right away or we are going to be hit with some big-time late fees.” – Signed YOUR BOSS
If you got this email from your CEO you’d probably drop everything and get it done. Right? I would. Bad guys are hoping you would too. The hottest business scam going is the CEO email scam or Business Email Compromise (B.E.C.) scam.
The FBI estimates that 3.1 billion dollars have been taken from companies with this scam over the last three years.
I recently shared this information with CircleWisconsin businesses when I was booked to talk about the top business scams and what you can do to protect your companies. You might think your team is as secure as a government agency and there is no way you’d get ripped off. Oh really?
Secure as a government agency you say. Well, the CEO email scam is exactly what happened when Washington County fell victim and was scammed out of nearly $90,000.
While of course you should talk to your IT department and make sure your system is secure, let’s not forget about good ‘ole fashion communication skills. It’s called TALKING.
If you are worried about bothering them in a meeting – text or go talk to someone else who should know. Employees who ask this #OneQuestion and confirm the email would save millions of dollars.
Would your CEO take the call? Would your employee make the call? Might be time to have a chat.
If nothing else, feel free to post my blog in your company newsletter. I’m all about better communication and better business.
Find out more about having me come to talk to your company or group.
