Security advice for businesses affected by the Covid-19 outbreak

Warwickshire Police, Warwickshire County Council and other local councils are working hard with local businesses to provide security advice for those currently closed due to the pandemic or otherwise affected by it.

Many businesses have already implemented security measures including, of course, do not leave any valuables inside or outside your business during the lockdown.

To help businesses manage their security during the pandemic, Secured by Design, the Police Digital Security Centre and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office have put together a leaflet containing the Top 10 Security Tips for Closed Business Premises, the Top 10 Cyber Security Tips for Working at Home and the latest Counter Terrorism advice. These provides advice and guidance to help businesses review both their physical and cyber security.

Meanwhile, Trading Standards is warning residents and businesses to beware of COVID-19 ‘smishing’ and ‘SMS spoofing’ scams.

‘Smishing’ is where a fraudster will send out a bogus text message purporting to be from a genuine organisation or business. ‘SMS Spoofing’ also involves the sending of fake text messages using specialist software - however, in this case the messages appear in the chain of texts, next to genuine messages the mobile phone user has already received, making them harder to spot and appear more plausible. ‘Smishing’ and ‘SMS spoofing’ text messages may also be followed up by phone calls from the fraudsters.

Fraudsters are also seeking to take advantage of the fact that many investors have seen a fall in the value of their investments caused by a hugely volatile stock market. They try to exploit this situation by cold-calling or emailing consumers, offering people the opportunity to invest in schemes or products that appear to offer high returns in a difficult financial climate, sometimes by claiming that the investments are ‘healthcare’ related. In reality, fraudsters offer ‘too good to be true’ investments that are either worthless or don’t even exist.

For more information on all the above, and more security advice, please visit the Warwickshire Business Watch website.

* Warwickshire Business Watch has been created in partnership between the Warwickshire County Council Community Safety Team, Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner and Warwickshire Police.