Tax Season Means Phishing Scams: IT Services Experts in Houston Can Help You Avoid Them

Institute Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Protocols

IT services experts in Houston design DLP solutions to rebuff phishing scams. Tax season is here, and returns are due in a matter of days. Many scammers use this time to undermine the uninformed, and even the well-informed, through cleverly derived scams. These scams are designed to either steal personal information for the purposes of fraud or trick those who are unwary into sending money which is ostensibly for taxes. Here is a list of seventeen pernicious scams from last year.

Thankfully, email tax scams are easier to identify than some other methods, like phone scams where some scammer calls out of the blue acting bored and demanding information or payment from you.

Avoidance Techniques

Avoiding these things is best done through protocols designed to anticipate scammers. Basically, when information of a sensitive or financial nature is being bandied about digitally, there should be procedures which define such interaction. If you get a requisition for money from an internal department, one DLP measure may be calling on the phone the individual who sent the requisition in order to confirm they are, in fact, actually requesting money.

Another measure may be entrusting a specific individual or department with such financially sensitive data, and ensuring this crack squad of savvy personnel understands all the dangers defining the market. IT services experts in Houston can take stock of your operations and help you to identify where hidden vulnerabilities lie and what tax fraud looks like. Don’t be afraid to push a pushy tax person around, either. If the IRS is serious, you can bet they’ll send a bespectacled tax person to your business for an audit, or something of the kind. If things can’t be satisfactorily determined, call perceived bluffs!

Attaining Informed Assistance

When you’ve got proper protocols that are informed by industry leaders, you’re more likely to have structures in place which automatically prevent fraud through simple disqualification. Beyond that, you should know how to recognize fraudulent phishing scams. Look for misspellings. Look for emails sent at odd hours. Look for small inconsistencies in email addresses–like names that are one letter off from what they should be.

Your best bet will be to work with an agency that knows existing scams and is always working to be up-to-date on developing ones as they become visible. IT services in Houston from ICS are designed to both inform you and fortify you against various scams. Contact us now for security against diverse phishing scams.