November is traditionally one of the busiest shopping periods of the year, with Black Friday offers, early Christmas orders and plenty of emails promising deals that seem too good to miss.
For businesses, however, there’s another side to this seasonal rush that deserves some attention.
While most people associate Black Friday scams with online shoppers, businesses can also find themselves targeted by convincing emails, fraudulent invoices and attempts to gain access to company accounts.
Here at Systems Integration Ltd in Swindon, we know that running a business involves enough day-to-day challenges without having to worry about whether every supplier email, payment request or unexpected attachment is genuine.
So, with November upon us, we thought we’d look at some of the ways cybercriminals take advantage of busy workplaces and, more importantly, what businesses can do to protect themselves.
The Email That Looks Just Like Your Supplier
Imagine arriving at work on a Monday morning to find an email from a regular supplier. They’re asking you to settle an outstanding invoice, but there’s a slight change. Their bank details have apparently been updated.
The email looks professional, includes the correct company name and might even refer to a genuine order.
Would you question it?
This is exactly the type of situation businesses need to be prepared for.
Business email compromise involves criminals impersonating trusted contacts or gaining access to genuine email accounts to trick employees into transferring money or sharing confidential information.
Unfortunately, these attempts aren’t always easy to recognise. Fraudulent messages can be well written, convincing and timed to coincide with genuine business activity.
Our advice: Never rely solely on an email when someone requests a change to payment details. Contact the supplier using a telephone number you already know to be genuine and confirm the request independently.
A two-minute phone call could prevent a very expensive mistake.
AI Is Making Suspicious Emails Harder to Spot
There was a time when spotting a scam email was relatively straightforward. Poor spelling, unusual formatting and questionable email addresses were often obvious warning signs.
That’s no longer something businesses can rely on.
Artificial intelligence can help criminals produce professional-looking emails that closely resemble normal business correspondence. Messages can be tailored to particular industries, job roles or organisations, making them considerably more convincing.
For businesses across Swindon and Wiltshire, this means traditional advice about simply looking for spelling mistakes is no longer sufficient. Having the right business cyber security measures in place can help reduce the risk of phishing, malware and unauthorised access.
Employees should also be encouraged to question unexpected requests, particularly those involving money, passwords, confidential documents or urgent account changes.
A message doesn’t become trustworthy simply because it looks professional.
Black Friday Deals Can Create Problems for Business IT
November can also be an attractive time for companies looking to purchase new computers, monitors, networking equipment and other office technology.
And there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking advantage of a genuine saving.
However, buying IT equipment based purely on price can sometimes create more problems than it solves.
Before purchasing discounted hardware, it’s worth considering whether the equipment will actually work with your existing systems.
Is the device suitable for your network? Will it support the software your employees need? Does it meet your security requirements? And will it remain supported for a reasonable period?
A heavily discounted computer isn’t necessarily a bargain if it needs replacing sooner than expected or creates compatibility problems.
At Systems Integration, our business IT services help companies choose, install and maintain equipment that suits their requirements, rather than simply recommending the latest or most expensive option.
The best IT purchase is one that makes business life easier, not one that creates another support ticket.
Could Someone Access Your Business Accounts Without You Knowing?
One area worth reviewing this November is how employees access company emails, files and business applications.
Passwords alone aren’t always enough to protect important accounts, particularly when credentials have been exposed through phishing or reused across multiple services.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) provides an additional layer of protection by requiring another form of verification when someone signs in.
For businesses using Microsoft 365, it’s also sensible to review account permissions, sign-in activity and the security settings applied to employees.
Not everyone needs administrator access, and former employees shouldn’t retain access to company systems once they’ve left.
These might seem like small details, but overlooking them can create unnecessary security risks.
A properly configured IT environment should make it straightforward for authorised employees to work while making unauthorised access considerably more difficult.
Five Things Your Business Can Check This November
You don’t necessarily need to make major changes to improve your business security. Sometimes the most useful starting point is checking that the basics are being managed properly.
1. Review your email protection. Make sure suspicious attachments, malicious links and impersonation attempts are being appropriately filtered.
2. Check multi-factor authentication. Important business accounts, particularly email and administrator accounts, should have suitable additional sign-in protection.
3. Remind employees about payment fraud. Establish a clear process for checking changes to supplier bank details and unexpected financial requests.
4. Review your backups. Confirm that essential business data is being backed up and that it can actually be restored when required.
5. Check software and security updates. Unsupported or unpatched systems can leave businesses exposed to vulnerabilities that might otherwise have been avoided.
None of these steps should be treated as a one-off exercise. Business cyber security works best when it’s regularly reviewed and maintained.
Local IT Support Makes a Difference When Something Goes Wrong
One of the advantages of working with a local IT support provider is having someone who understands your business and its existing technology.
Systems Integration Ltd has been supporting businesses in Swindon, Wiltshire and along the M4 corridor for more than 20 years.
From managed IT support and Microsoft services to data backups, disaster recovery and cyber security, our role is to help businesses keep their systems reliable, secure and suitable for the work they do.
We’re not suggesting every unexpected email is a scam or that businesses should be afraid to use technology.
Quite the opposite.
Technology should help your business run smoothly, and sensible security measures should provide confidence rather than unnecessary complications.
Make November the Month You Check Your Business Security
With Black Friday approaching and the Christmas period not far behind, November is a sensible time to review how well your business is protected.
If you’re unsure whether your email security is properly configured, your backups are reliable or your current IT arrangements are giving you the protection you need, it’s worth having a conversation before something goes wrong.
Systems Integration Ltd provides business IT support and cyber security services across Swindon, Wiltshire and the M4 corridor.
Give our friendly team a call on 01793 481981 or visit our contact page to discuss your business IT requirements.
A little preparation now could save a great deal of disruption later.
