Since the spread of COVID-19 and the last announcement Governor Brad Little has asked for Idahoans to stay home, there has been an increase of people working from home. This has given a lot of positive opportunities for people to keep their jobs and for businesses to keep running. However, a lot of untrusted individuals are using this opportunity to trick people to fall for scams.
Jeremy Johnson, the eastern Idaho marketplace manager at The Better Business Bureau, said people need to be more cautious on the internet.
“If you are working from home, don’t hesitate to ask your employer about security measures, make sure that your home internet is secure as possible,” she said.
When working from home there are a lot of websites workers need to use, but it’s important to always check if you are in the correct link and that it’s secure. One of the ways you can check that is by looking at the link and if there is an “https” in the URL. Johnson said it is crucial to check that it ends with an “s” because the “s” shows the website is secure.
“We have seen this in the past as well and we are concerned that it will ramping up in this current environment,” she said.
One of the most common ways scammers are trying to get your information is by sending emails with an employee’s name or manager and asking them to transfer money or make a payment. This is a very simple way to fake their identification since there is information about businesses and their employees on the internet.
“Kind of have your guard up, be skeptical, if any text, phone, email seems a little bit off - the writing seems not like something you normally heard before, anything that puts up a red flag - don’t hesitate to stop and call…to verify that information,” she said.
For information about what to do to be safe from scammers by reading BBB’s tips.