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Best Tips For Protecting Small Business From Lending Fraud 

Protecting your business against fraud and cyber attacks is more important than ever. Here are Business Fraud Prevention Tips. Get more information at https://www.reasonsecurity.com/ <br><br>

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Best Tips For Protecting Small Business From Lending Fraud 

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  1.     5 Best Tips For Protecting   Small Business From Lending Fraud    According to a recent report by NBC news, 87% of small business owners say they are  struggling due to the coronavirus, and business.com reports that nearly 62% of the small  business owners who they surveyed said their businesses could only last another two months in  the current economic conditions.         These statistics seem especially grim when you remember that small businesses account for  44 percent of U.S. economic activity. They are considered the lifeblood of the economy for good  reason.     Sadly, the near future for SMBs isn’t looking that bright either; one analyst predicted that 15,000  retail stores would close permanently in 2020 as a result of Covid-19. Clearly small businesses  are facing ​an existential threat. And clearly they need help.    The Help    Recognizing this threat, many US states as well as the federal government have enacted a  variety of financial assistance programs to help small businesses weather the corona crisis,  some of which are in the form of special loans.  

  2.       All of this is great news for beleaguered small businesses, but… and there’s always a ‘but’…  lending fraud has also reared its ugly head.          Lending Fraud    The truth is that scammers see every major event as an opportunity to exploit a situation and  the coronavirus pandemic is no exception.     Corona-themed scams are rampant. The problem has gotten so serious in fact, that a group of  senators asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take steps to protect SMB owners from  being victimized.     The SBA has even established a hotline for businesses to report suspected fraud.     Of course, to suspect fraud, you first need to know what to look for...    What to look for...   

  3.     In addition to establishing a hotline, the SBA has also issued a set of guidelines to help SMBs  recognize fraud:        ● If borrowers are asked to pay a fee to get the PPP loan, it’s a scam. The SBA pays the  lender fees, not the borrowers. Similarly, when agents are used to get a loan, the lender  pays the agents, not the borrowers.     ● If you receive an email offering a free grant, but you’re asked to pay a fee to get it, it’s  fraud.Generally the federal government doesn’t offer grants to SMBs, and they especially  won’t ask the SMB to pay a processing fee to apply for the grant.    ● Most PPP loans don’t ask for more than 1% interest. Anything more than that is  suspicious.    ● Government agencies generally do not reach out through social media. Solicitations  about grants or loans, via social media are a red flag   But knowing what to look for isn’t enough   

  4.     Yet, it’s not enough to just identify and report fraud. SMBs must also be proactive in protecting  their businesses.    Approximately 4 million SMBs have already submitted loan applications to the SBA. While these  loans represent hope to small businesses, to hackers they represent a larger attack surface and  more targets.     SMBs, therefore, need to step up their cybersecurity game more than ever. In addition to making  sure to only use websites with a .gov extension or their state’s domain extension when applying  for SBA loans and to only use trusted vendors who are eligible to issue PPP loans, SMBs should  also implement the five cybersecurity measures below:    1. Install ​antivirus protection​ that detects and removes malware.    2. Protect digital activity with ​privacy protection​ that stops hackers from spying on  webcams and microphones, prevents cookies and scripts from tracking online activity,  and keeps unwanted software off business systems.    3. Prevent employees from navigating to malicious websites with strong ​Internet protection​.     4. Implement strict password protocols     5. Always keep software up to date so security holes don’t get left unpatched.    For businesses with more than one or two business computers, a ​small business managed  antivirus​ is the wise choice since it will make sure that all business devices are uniformly  protected.     Saying yes to help, but no to fraud    Covid-19 has affected small businesses in a variety of ways and its impact probably won’t be  fully understood for several years. One thing that is abundantly clear is that, whatever its impact,  it’s substantial. Many small businesses have had to adapt and get assistance just to survive.  Thankfully, SMBs were thrown a lifeline in the form of financial assistance programs.     These programs can indeed help businesses get back on their feet again, but only if that lifeline  is not threatened by cybercrime.     And that’s exactly what hackers are doing; threatening that lifeline. Business owners, therefore,  need to be proactive when it comes to their security.     They need to know what to look for and how to protect themselves; starting with the tips  mentioned above.   

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