Chamber Connections BLOG
Chamber Connections BLOG
IT Security Tip: Is this request really from the boss?
Here’s a common scam: you get an e-mail from the boss (or your spouse, parents or other trusted person) asking you to send them a copy of employee pay stubs, tax information and files with confidential data such as social security numbers in them; or they’re asking you to transfer or ACH payment to a vendor or a different bank account. The problem: even though it is coming from someone’s e-mail address you know and trust and LOOKS legit, there’s a chance it could be a scam. Hackers can INTERCEPT e-mail messages and modify them. If you ever get this kind of request, DOUBLE-CHECK by calling that person to confirm. And even if it turns out to be a legitimate request, you should NEVER send confidential information like social security numbers (or attachments with this information inside of them) without taking precautions to password-protect and encrypt the message first. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not right. Cybercrime is at an all-time high, and hackers are setting their sights on small and medium businesses who are “low hanging fruit.” Don’t be their next victim! To download this free report that reveals the most common ways that hackers get in and how to protect yourself today go to www.packetlogix.com
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People's Credit Union is Top Fundraiser at The East Bay Running Festival
MIDDLETOWN, RI (September 28, 2023): People’s Credit Union was the top fundraiser at the East Bay Running Festival on September 23rd benefiting the Bristol Warren Education Foundation (BWEF). The running festival was a family friendly event for all ages and abilities, with 5K &10K runs, a one-mile walk, and kids’ races. The races all started and ended at the Pete Sepe Pavilion in Warren, with food, refreshments, and activities for adults and children of all ages. The festival supported BWEF’s efforts to supplement school budgets with teaching grants for programs enriching students’ overall educational experience. In addition to being the top fundraiser, People’s Credit Union was a Platinum Sponsor for the event. “The Credit Union team was more than happy to be a part of the festival and very proud to be the top fundraiser,” stated Courtney Hunter, Head of Community Development for People’s Credit Union. “The Bristol Warren Education Foundation is a terrific organization that provides teachers and staff with high-quality, innovative programs for students,” Hunter added. People's Credit Union's running team ABOUT PEOPLE’S CREDIT UNION People’s offers a complete range of services including online and mobile banking, savings and checking accounts, personal loans, mortgages, business accounts, business loans, and financial services. Headquartered in Rhode Island, People’s Credit Union is a member-owned, state chartered, federally insured, community credit union established in 1922. Membership is open to all individuals. Deposits are insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an agency of the federal government. For more information about People’s Credit Union visit www.peoplescu.com. IT Security Tip: What are Zero-Day Vulnerabilities?
In the world of Cyber Security, the term “zero-day vulnerabilities” comes up often. What exactly does it mean and why do I care about it? After all, we are a small business and surely not worth anyone’s bother to “hack.” Nothing can be further from the truth. A zero-day vulnerability is a unique weakness in either software or hardware which has not yet been exploited by the hacking community and provides them with a brief window of opportunity to hack your systems before a fix is readily made available to you. IN other words, it is a hacker’s dream come true. Why should you care? Ideally, you shouldn’t. You should know that we care a tremendous amount and have gone to great lengths to protect you, your employees and customers from just such an exploitation. Let’s get back to that comment about “not being large enough for a hacker to target you.” Yes, it is true, governments and large organizations are under a 24/7 barrage of hacking attempts. What is also true is they spend millions upon millions of dollars every year just to keep up, never mind get ahead of the hackers. Hacking is a trillion-dollar business. That is true. And if you are a hacking concern you are going to look for “soft targets” or the low hanging fruit where you can make a few bucks. If you hit enough of these singles with small businesses that adds up quickly and you can make a good “living” at it. They know that most small businesses are too busy to have proper IT security hygiene and take advantage of that fact. This is one reason all of our clients are monitored 24/7 and scanned continually for probable threats. If you have a nagging suspicion this isn’t occurring for you, we should talk. Cybercrime is at an all-time high, and hackers are setting their sights on small and medium businesses who are “low hanging fruit.” Don’t be their next victim! To download this free report that reveals the most common ways that hackers get in and how to protect yourself today go to www.packetlogix.com CPAIRS Stops ERC claims!
The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) has gained wide publicity and numerous shops have popped up all over the United States and unfortunately many have been “false advertising” about businesses eligibility and how much money they will receive. We receive at least five calls per week offering to “gets us the money that is owed to us,” and messages that “you could receive up to $26,000 per employee.” These types of claims have caused an unprecedented IRS response. A recent moratorium on the processing of new claims has been enacted, at least through the end of this year. If you were legitimately eligible for the ERC (employee retention credit) your CPA could have run some computations to help you determine your eligibility. There were a few hurdles to jump over, and there wasn’t just “free money” out there because you had employees. The credit was refundable and based upon a business’s ability to pay workers through the COVID-19 pandemic even if their operations were fully or partially shut down or for those that saw a significant decline in gross receipts during the eligibility period. The credit was claimed on an amended form 941 (quarterly payroll tax return) generally for the periods of March 31, 2020, to September 30, 2021. Due to a slew of recent claims within the last 90 days, the IRS Commissioner reacted with the moratorium, because he said, these claims should be dissipating and not increasing. There have been criminal investigations and convictions related to false claims. To learn more, see this article in the Journal of Accountancy: https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2023/sep/tsunami-of-erc-claims-required-irs-action-halt-fraud-experts-say.html submitted my M Hughes CPA & Company, LLC This Week’s Cybersecurity Tip of the Week, provided by PacketLogix IT Security Tip: Fake update prompts from popular software All software needs to be updated on a regular basis. This includes popular programs such as adobe reader, java, and other programs that you might use on a regular basis. Since most of these programs don’t auto-update, they have to ask you to do it. The bad guys have figured this out and use trickery to present you with fake update windows that look deceptively close to the real thing but will actually give you viruses or malware if you click on them. The best way to handle this is to either 1. Partner with an IT company that will handle 3rd party software updates automatically for you or 2. Only update this software from within the application itself. Updates can usually be found in the ‘help’ menu for most software. Cybercrime is at an all-time high, and hackers are setting their sights on small and medium businesses who are “low hanging fruit.” Don’t be their next victim! To download this free report that reveals the most common ways that hackers get in and how to protect yourself today go to www.packetlogix.com This Week’s Cybersecurity Tip of the Week, provided by PacketLogix
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