Digital footprint
Your business may need to promote itself online. If so, it needs to think about how it behaves on the internet and so do your staff. All the places you visit and the things you post leave a record. This is your digital footprint. And anybody, even fraudsters, could use this footprint against you.
Fraudsters search the web and places like social media to try to find details they can use for a scam. If they get enough, it could help them to target your business. They can even try to pretend to be a colleague or use your business’ identity.
You and your staff should only put things online that people need to know. If it could be used for a scam, keep it private.
Use our guidance to stay safe and protect your digital footprint.
Tips to protect your digital footprint
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Protect the privacy of your business like it’s your home. Keep important details private to stop them being used by others. Decide what people need to know and what you should leave out as it could be useful to a fraudster.
Encourage staff to set their personal social media accounts to private or friends only.
When it comes to using social media for your work or career, only connect with people you know. If you’re not sure who someone is, don’t connect with them.
Keep your personal and professional social media profiles separate. Don’t make it easy for fraudsters.
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Fraudsters can open fake accounts or break into other people’s accounts to send scam messages.
If a message asks for money or banking details, call the sender to make sure it’s real. Talk to them in person. Use a phone number you trust, not one from a message as this could be part of a scam.
And be careful what you click on. Fraudsters can use links within a message to send you to a fake site or to put a virus on your device.
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Choose a new, strong password for every account or site you use.
Never use personal or work details to create a password. Fraudsters may search through social media to help them guess your passwords or to try to steal your identity.
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You don’t want your details to fall into the wrong hands. Fraudsters can use them to pretend to be you, your business or your contacts.
Learn more about your digital footprint on our training video