The FBI Takes Social Engineering Seriously. Why Don’t Business Owners Do The Same?

Social engineering. The term sounds creepy and sinister, like some sort of futuristic mind-control plot by secret underground bad guys. 

Which is exactly what it is.  Except that it’s not so “futuristic” any more.  
Social engineering scams today account for the large majority of reported cybercrime events, even prompting the FBI to issue this recent warning about the increasing risk to businesses and individuals.

All-too-common tricks like phishing, pretexting, scareware, and SIM swapping are costing companies billions in not only looted funds and costly disruptions, but also stolen secrets and identities.

So why are many business owners hesitant to take the right precautions?

And more importantly, how can you convince them to take action before it’s too late? 

Start by showing them the FBI’s recent warning and the IC3’s exhaustive report on cybercrime around the globe.

‍Tell them that cybercrooks are relentless, and favor targeting SMBs and SMEs precisely because they’re undefended and unprepared.

Let them know that a data breach can cost them not only the trust of their customers, but also fines of $250,000 or more.

Tell them that the average cost of a ransomware attack in 2023 was $5.13 million and that only 8% of businesses that pay ransoms get all of their data back.

Explain that it only takes one mistake from an employee or vendor (and for just a few seconds) to put their entire livelihood at risk and jeopardize everything they’ve worked for all these years.

In other words, make them understand that the stakes are too high to play with, and that the costs of proper security measures are simply too low to balk at.  

‍Because if there’s one thing NO business can afford, it’s becoming the next victim of a lone bad actor or insidious criminal network. 

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