Telephones are the lifeline of most businesses and you can’t afford to lose contact with your customers. Arming yourself with knowledge and implementing best practice is your best protection against telecoms fraud. Taking a few simple measures to safeguard your business could save you thousands of pounds:
- In the same way that you would never dream of using the word ‘password’ as your password, make sure you change the security settings and passwords on your telephone system from the default or factory settings.
- Change voicemail and DISA (Direct Inward System Access) passwords regularly and protect them and your access codes from unauthorised use.
- Remove or de-activate any telephone system functionality you don’t need including remote access ports.
- Never publish the remote access phone numbers that connect callers to your voice mail system.
- Program your telephone system to disallow access after three invalid attempts, in the same way as entering the wrong PIN at the cash machine.
- Remove redundant mailboxes.
- Immediately de-activate access codes and voice mail passwords of people who leave your business.
- Keep an eye on your monthly phone bills for anything that looks unusual
- Carry out regular audits of your telephone systems including privileges and restrictions
- Restrict access to equipment and hardware and limit users’ systems access to the minimum level it needs to be
- Implement policies and procedures to minimise risk
- Protect yourself with Fraud Monitor. Fraud Monitor keeps a close eye on your account throughout the month and alerts you to any unusual activity when it happens.
If you have been a victim, you need to report it at: https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/.