Callagenix
It’s only a few short weeks since we wrote about the dangers of number spoofing but a recent incident shows only too well how important it is to be constantly vigilant when it comes to phone security.
One of our colleagues recently received a text on their phone from an unknown number. The text read: “You called me?” It was followed an hour or so later by a phone call from the same number. The caller was adamant that our colleague had phoned and kept asking for their name which our colleague didn’t give.
Now it could be an innocent mistake on the part of the other person but there are two other possibilities. Either someone spoofed our colleague’s phone number when contacting someone else or the caller was trying to elicit information from our colleague that they could use in a scam. Interestingly when our colleague refused to divulge any information the original text disappeared from their phone.
Why might this be particularly important at this time of year? Well, sadly not only is Christmas a time of celebration, it is also a time in which fraudsters pick up their efforts as Action Fraud’s Cyber Awareness campaign shows only too well. So being on guard is the watchword not only for individuals but also for businesses. In 2022 the Bank Holidays on 26th and 27th December mean that many businesses will be enjoying a minimum of a four-day break. And that means that potentially phone systems may be left unguarded for that time; a perfect opportunity for a bit of scamming.
PIN phone entry
So what can you do to avoid coming back into the office to find that your business phone system has been used in your absence? Well for a start you might want to look towards securing access to the system with a PIN entry code. If your phones are already PIN protected, take a quick look to ensure that each one has a separate code and that your people have chosen random codes rather than the more easily guessed ones such as 1111 and 1234. Oh yes, and if your people have no need to call premium rate lines or to call abroad then why not block those types of calls?
Virtual Switchboards
Those businesses with virtual switchboards also have the option to switch extensions on and off as required. So if the office is going to be empty, why not switch off all of the phones over the holiday period? Of course, you may decide that you want to keep one incoming line open for customer contacts, but if you do so then it is easy to divert those calls to an internal or external number of your choice.
Callagenix offers businesses a flexible business phone system which can be programmed as required. If you would like to learn more about the phone systems on offer including PIN protection and virtual switchboards, why not take a look at our website or give us a call.