Phishing scams

Google’s warning this month about an email spam campaign was a reminder to small businesses of how vulnerable they can be to what are called phishing scams.

Google said it was able to stop the campaign, which sent emails designed to look like they came from a friend or business associate who wanted the recipient to click on a link to see a Google document. Anyone who fell for the scam was in danger of having contact information stolen, Google said.

Phishing scams, which aim to get all kinds of information including usernames, passwords and credit card logins, began decades ago. Scammers have been increasingly sophisticated, sending emails that look legitimate to people, companies and organizations of all sizes. Some have attachments rather than links.

A busy company owner who’s distracted and doesn’t closely examine an email can get taken in. Employees who haven’t been warned may wrongly assume the email they see is OK.

There are ways to avoid being scammed. Don’t click unless you know the email is safe. Check with your friend or associate — send a separate email, rather than clicking on ‘Reply’ — and ask, did you mean to send me something?

You can also closely examine the sender’s email address and yours. Be sure they’re correct. If you don’t recognize them and/or you’re blind-copied, don’t click!

Anyone who fell for the scam was in danger of having contact information stolen, Google said.