Here at the Web and Marketing Bureau, the security and trust we establish with our clients is perhaps the most important thing for us. So we’re always going above and beyond to make sure we give you all the resources and assistance you need to succeed. This was recently pointed out to us when a client was facing a scam involving their accounts. We were able to help them solve the issue and preserve their security efforts before anything terrible happened.
Here’s the story:
One of our clients, The Fire Pit Gallery, reached out to us on Monday, July 5th, and said they were having a problem with their Intuit QuickBooks accounts. They had received a notification from a man claiming to work for Intuit telling them to upgrade their security and download this new application; otherwise, they would remain locked out of their accounts and client information due to suspected fraudulent activity. We found this puzzling, and so did they since we had already established several security measures for them, but we jumped in and started working to fix the problem despite our office being closed for the holiday.
We installed several advanced security steps and added new measures for their website and accounts that would negate the need for the man’s application. Finally, our client told us that she had called Intuit and explained what was happening to their account, as well as a bunch of orders placed on their website by a bot we later discovered, and they told her, “That wasn’t us. No one by that name works for our company.” Their confusion and the multiple attempts to access their Quickbooks gave validity to the claim.
It was a scam whose purpose was to convince them to download this application allowing hackers to bypass their server and steal the credit card information of all their clients. Our combined effort secured their account before any damage was done. Our client’s trust in us to reach out and ask for our help before taking any action with the emails was deeply appreciated.
We’re always striving to demonstrate the dedication of our resources for our clients, and knowing that our clients at Fire Pit Gallery knew we would drop everything and help them get up and running meant a great deal to us.
Internet scams are on the rise, and their complexity keeps growing. Unfortunately, for many people, it’s getting harder to tell the difference. To help you determine if something you receive is a scam, look for these telltale signs.
- Consider what mode of communication was used.
- If the contents sound too good to be true.
- Doesn’t reveal the identity or limited identity.
- They sound like an expert but can’t answer all of your questions on the spot.
Another way to help you avoid being the latest victim of hackers is to do what Fire Pit did and call us. We will help you get your security set up and continuously work with you to prevent threats that come your way.
While cybersecurity is a grave issue and an important problem to get ahead of, some people take scams as an opportunity to bug hackers as much as they bug us. James Veitch recently did a TED Talk X about his funny encounter with a scammer. Check out his amusing advice below.
