Tax refunds supposedly from national taxation bodies. Requests to verify accounts from well-known banks via a link. Attachments containing delayed invoices from suppliers.
These are some finance and tax-related scams that my team intercepts every End of Financial Year (EOFY). Cybercriminals love this period because they know that being cyber-savvy is probably pretty low on your staff’s list of priorities, as teams, specifically accounting and finance professionals, are distracted by settling overdue invoices, balancing numbers and filing tax returns amid stringent deadlines.
But this EOFY, I anticipate these scams will be more sinister, and hit businesses harder. This period has always been a busy one for scammers, but the ongoing uncertainty triggered by COVID-19 (including the introduction of new economic stimulus packages introduced by governments worldwide) enables them to augment their attacks and take further advantage of the fragile physiological state of busy professionals – essentially, presenting them with an opportunity to use an enhanced sort of psychological warfare.
We write more about how this psychological warfare works in this blog post.
I firmly believe that education is key when it comes to defending your business against such scams. Share the above blog with your teams to raise their awareness about the type of scams that are proliferating this EOFY, and how they work.
As the EOFY period approaches, I urge you to take proactive measures in protecting your business before it’s too late. Now is simply not the time for lax security. If you need more support in protecting your business from cybercrime, feel free to reach out to my team at expert@mailguard.com.au.
