7 Tips to Avoid Phishing Email Scams

7 Tips to Avoid Phishing Email Scams

What is a Phishing Email?

Phishing emails are a form of social engineering technique used to trick people into giving their personal or financial information to third parties. They are usually sent with the purpose of stealing money, identities and data. They may also be used to insert malware onto a computer.

Do You Know What to Look for?

Phishing emails are notoriously difficult to detect, especially if the person or organisation sending them is skilled in what they’re doing. To avoid getting caught out by one of these scams, you need to know what they look like and what you should look for when checking your inbox. How can you avoid being scammed by a phishing email?

Tip 1 - Always check the sender’s address

TIP 1

Always check the sender’s email address before opening any email.

Do you know them?

TIP 2

Think Before You Click!

Check any web links in an email carefully before clicking them.

Tip 2 - Think Before You Click!
Tip 3 - Look for the lock

TIP 3

If you do click a link, look for the lock.

Web browsers show a lock icon for legitimate secured web pages. Some browsers may even say, “Not secure”. You should never log into any site that doesn’t have a lock icon.

TIP 4

Watch out for typos and grammatical errors, especially in the “Subject” field of the email.

This is often a clear indication that the email isn’t genuine. Genuine emails from reputable companies will often use professional spell checks and/or proof-readers before publishing.

Tip 4 - Watch out for typos
Tip 5 - Never provide personal information

TIP 5

Never provide personal information to an unsolicited caller or emailer.

Be cautious about requests for your passwords, billing information, or any sensitive company data, etc.

TIP 6

If you receive an email claiming to be from your bank asking you to verify your information, close the email and go to the bank website directly.

Tip 6 - Go to banking websites directly
Tip 7 - Threatening or urgent emails are often phishing emails

TIP 7

Emails threatening a negative consequence or loss of opportunity unless urgent action is taken, are often phishing emails.

The sender wants you to panic and rush to action before you have had the chance to look for potential flaws or inconsistencies.

Remember, good cyber security is vital in protecting your personal and company data.

Ensuring the security and robustness of your systems and your staff training is key to avoiding systems breaches and complying with your GDPR and Information Commissioner Office obligations as a data controller and processor.

Cigma Systems at the Business Show 2021

The Great British Business Show

Cigma Systems is pleased to announce that we will be exhibiting at the London Business Show 2021 in November.

The British Business show is Europe’s biggest business event, helping small businesses grow and develop. This will be the 43rd edition of the show and is set to be the biggest yet.

Cigma Systems will be at the ExCel Centre for the duration of the show on the 24th and 25th of November at Stand B704.

During the show, we will be talking about how our Business Continuity Management and Business Intelligence services can help your business to be more resilient and efficient. We will also be showcasing our CiGMA Customer Relationship Management system and demonstrating how it can connect your current systems, making them more integrated, secure and easier to use.

If you are going to be at the show, come along and say hello. If not, why not contact us to see how Cigma Systems can help to make your business more secure?

After all, protecting your business is our business.

A Simple Guide to Business Continuity Management

A Simple Guide to Business Management

What is BCM (Business Continuity Management)?

Remember the time you locked yourself out of the house (and stood there feeling helpless and a little bit foolish)?

If you’d thought ahead and hidden a spare key under a stone or in the shed, that’s Continuity Management. It’s finding solutions BEFORE things go wrong.

In business, you’re less likely to lock yourself out of the office (although we’ll plan for that too!), and more likely to need to combat stressful situations like cyber attacks, power outages, floods, industrial sabotage or, you know, global pandemics(!)

Why is BCM so important?

BCM isn’t important. It’s VITAL. Any large change in circumstance could destroy a business. Take a moment and imagine the power went off right now in your office… and stayed off for 24 hours or even longer.

What data would you lose? What happens when the phones don’t work and customers can’t contact you? What do your employees do? How do orders get fulfilled?

Sure, you can send out an email after the event, apologising to existing customers, but how many new sales or leads have you lost? How has your reputation been damaged? How many negative reviews have been posted on social media? The modern world can be a very unforgiving place.

Good business continuity management proves that your priorities are to protect your business, your customers and your employees.

A BCM Plan ensures that a company can continue operations and deliver products and services to its customers. All businesses, in any industry, at any size, need a business continuity management plan.

Cigma Systems can help you to navigate through the process. We can help you do the analysis required as well as design and manage all aspects of your BCM. The resulting processes will be invaluable in enabling your business to maintain continuity and therefore profitability and reputation in a time of disruption.

No one likes to think about what could go wrong. It’s an uncomfortable feeling acknowledging a critical problem could occur at any moment. The job of Cigma Systems is to make setting up these processes & systems as painless as possible so they are there when you need them, whenever that may be. Contact us today – tomorrow could be too late.