According to Action Fraud, the annual cost of telephone fraud in the UK is around £17 BILLION, it’s almost unfathomable.  Scammers are of course getting more and more sophisticated and ruthless but as we see unprecedented cost of living rises coupled with astronomical growth in energy bills in the UK, scammers are also getting more opportunistic and desperate.  So how do you protect your business and reduce the risk of getting caught out? 

Whether running up eye watering international call bills by piggy backing onto your system or brazenly impersonating your business to scam customers out of their hard earned money, one in four UK landline calls last year was attributed to fraudsters. If you are infiltrated by scammers, could your business handle the revenue hit, disruption to service and damage to reputation? With a little help and a lot of awareness there are ways you can protect your organisation from fraud, both when times are hard and when they’re not! 

• Know your system! Once you’re aware of the full capability of your system (and it is extensive) you can restrict access to those features you don’t use to reduce potential security weak spots. Don’t forget to deal with your mailboxes too – deleting or blocking access to any unused mailboxes and changing the default PIN will shore up your security even further.
• Be hot on security Choose hard to crack passwords where you can, including letters, numbers and symbols – and change them regularly. Password security is one of the most overlooked measures and it’s so very easy to get right.  Don’t forget to delete ex employees passwords and access codes too. 
• Regularly audit call logs Being aware of any calls made outside of your usual operating times, any unusual call durations and particularly international calls. Checking for any calls made outside of your regular operating hours, any notably unusual call durations and any international numbers dialled means you can deal with discrepancies promptly.
• Block premium rate numbers and international calls Most of your workforce are unlikely to need to make international or premium rate calls so make use of your phone system’s security features and restrict access to just those staff who need access to those types of calls for work purposes.  
• Use a firewall A firewall will regularly monitor voice and data activity going through your network and has the potential to stop any unusual activity in its tracks. Make sure you check your firewall logs regularly.
• Invest in staff training Be vigilant and look out for evidence of hacking – blocked lines or call logs outside of your business hours are key indicators. Ensure any smartphones accessing the VoIP system are secure with app or PIN access too.
• Limit physical access to the system in a secure comms room
• Update your VoIP devices and applications: If your system is outdated or a little neglected, there is a greater risk that a hacker can quickly take over your system and make changes to your settings. Regularly assessing and patching your software and firmware will make your system stronger and help protect against fraud.
• Protect your business Exceptional Call Reporting cover can cover you in the event of attempted fraud.

Don’t forget we offer free system reviews, get in touch today to protect your system or talk to us about upgrading to VoIP.