Cyber Crime Awareness

Dear QSC Partner,

Cyber-crime is on the rise and criminals are more aggressive trying to trick and deceive. "Phishing" starts with criminals pretending to be a company or person you already conduct business with. They attack using fake e-mails, texts, or phone calls. The criminals will sometimes create "spoofed" or fake e-mails or websites that are copies of the real thing and trick you into clicking or providing information used for fraud or identity theft.

To help ensure the security of our transactions, we encourage you to review some simple guidelines:

1) Awareness: The criminals can start with questions about invoicing, change of bank accounts, or holding payments. They sometimes impersonate QSC employees so always confirm identity and look for signs of a fake message.

2) Confirm Identity: If you are contacted by anyone claiming to be from QSC, please authenticate the identity of the caller or sender before engaging in any further communications. Do not reply or respond to the original request but immediately notify your designated QSC contact using a phone number or e-mail that has been previously-verified.

3) Be Cautious: The spoof e-mails or fake websites may have spelling, grammar or formatting mistakes. The e-mail may look like it is from someone you know but the criminals can fake the sender ID making it look like it is from QSC. They can also create fake letterhead making it look like it is official. If in doubt, notify your designated QSC contact using a phone number or e-mail that has been previously verified.

4) Financial or Banking Information: In the event of changes to QSC banking information, you will receive official and formal communications from QSC along with verbal verification from your designated pre-verified QSC contact. Do not provide any information about invoicing, payments, or banking details without confirming the identity of the sender or requestor.

5) Be Prepared: Please review your current internal process or procedures to ensure you are following best practice around recognizing and preventing cyber-crime and fraudulent transactions.

For more information and suggestions on how you can protect yourself from cybercrime, please visit the following websites:

National Security Alliance https://staysafeonline.org/

US Small Business Administration https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/manage-your-business/stay-safe-cybersecurity-threats

National Institute of Standards and Technology https://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-cybersecurity/nice