If you have seen an email in your inbox from a brand that you like, the chances are that you clicked on it without giving it a second thought. Unfortunately, many people do the same with the emails they believed to be legitimately from the brand they patronise. However, in the end, it turned out that those emails were nothing but impersonations of the real business.
Unfortunately, if anyone is impersonating you, keep in mind that your business’s image and reputation might end up getting severely affected. As a result, your customer base might lose trust in you because they assume that you don’t have robust security measures in place. With that in mind, what can you do to reduce the likelihood of your brand getting impersonated?
In this article, we will share three practical security tips that you can apply to protect your business from brand-impersonation scams:
1. Improve your security
The first step you should always do is to improve your business’s security measures. This typically includes utilising strong passwords for your social media accounts, keeping track of who has access to said accounts, and frequently changing the passwords. Implementing a DMARC policy in your email systems is vital to tackle those who may be faking your domain. This will verify the identity of the email, rejecting and quarantining any emails that are not legitimate. It also offers you the power to detect and deny any unauthorised users, further addressing the issue.
2.Monitor your social activity
Did you know that criminals can roam your social media, post on your “behalf,” and try to lure unsuspecting customers into clicking the links they provide? For this reason, keep your posts and other social media activities free from such fraudulent activities and monitor them often. Delete any posts from accounts impersonating you and report them right away. Sometimes, customers tell you about ongoing fraudulent activity. If this is the case, quickly identify what is going on and address the problem immediately!
3. Communicate to your audience
When communicating with your audience, whether through direct messages or email, always give them a guideline on how you will communicate. For instance, always let them know in every email that you send that you will never contact them to ask for login credentials and or other personal information. Letting them know that you will communicate solely through specific platforms will limit the possible ways someone can impersonate you.
Similarly, always be sure that when you send any content to your customers, it is visually consistent with your brand. This way, customers can grow accustomed to what you look like and spot impersonations right away. On the occasion that you do discover scammers impersonating you, announce to your audience right away the ongoing problem. This will help them be more cautious, ensuring they are safe from scams.
There is no real way to eliminate fraudulent activities––there will be those who are impersonating you one way or the other and those unfortunate few who will fall to such scams. However, this does not mean you should not work hard to fight back these criminals. Apply the three tips shared above, and always be on your best form to provide a safe and secure environment for your customers to do business with you.
Likewise, do not be afraid to reach out to security service providers if you cannot maintain security by yourself. This way, you can continue doing business while your brand and customers remain protected from criminal activities.
FraudWatch International is an online brand protection company, protecting brands worldwide from phishing, impersonation, and more. If you need online brand protection, get in touch with us today to see how we can help!