there are many cybersecurity concerns associated with work-from-home. According to Cisco’s Future of Secure Remote Work report, 85% of the survey takers claimed cybersecurity became more significant after the pandemic. Remote employees need a secure way to access the company’s data without the possibility of it being leaked to unauthorized people, such as hackers.
Have you ever thought about working from home as a blessing or a curse? You might have experienced it yourself in these past two years due to the pandemic. From shopping to education to jobs, everything shifted online. Thus, work-from-home became the “new normal.” Although companies offered it as a perk before, work-from-home has become very common.
Forbes magazine predicted approximately 70% of the workforce will be working from home by 2025, at least five days a month. Similarly, a survey by GitLab showed that 1 out of 3 people would quit their job if working from home was not offered by the company anymore. Nevertheless, all things have benefits and downsides. But what do you think about work-from-home? Hopefully, you will have a clear-cut answer by the end of this article.
Here is a List of Benefits of Work-from-Home
- Reduced travel time and costs
- Greater productivity
- Flexible work hours
- New employment opportunities outside your region
- More time for self
- Reduced rental costs for companies
- The hiring of employees from different geographical areas
What are the Downsides of Work-from-Home?
However, these benefits can sometimes turn into a disadvantage. People might become lazy or distracted by activities at home, making them unproductive and unable to meet deadlines on time. Similarly, there might be a weak relationship between the company and employees if employees are always working remotely.
Subsequently, team building between employees is also neglected. Moreover, companies now assess employees based on the completion of tasks instead of the hours worked, the latter being applicable for in-person jobs. This may increase the costs for the company as a new position will have to be created to ensure employees are completing their tasks.
If you’ve been scammed and suspect that scammers still hold your data then contact us to help you resolve the problem!
Furthermore, there are many cybersecurity concerns associated with work-from-home. According to Cisco’s Future of Secure Remote Work report, 85% of the survey takers claimed cybersecurity became more significant after the pandemic. Remote employees need a secure way to access the company’s data without the possibility of it being leaked to unauthorized people, such as hackers.
Therefore, companies need to invest in security systems to protect the company and employee data. Companies also need to prevent remote employees from stealing company data and misusing it, such as selling it to third-party organizations.
Privacy issues may arise because clients’ confidential information is leaked, possibly leading to legal and financial issues for the company. However, this theft of company data is not limited to employees only; family members of employees could also try to steal and misuse the data. So how can you prevent cybersecurity issues?
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6 Tips to Reduce Cybersecurity / Scammer Breaches
- Use of firewalls and anti-malware software to protect against hackers
- Using only non-public secure networks
- Hiring IT specialists to maintain software updates and accounts instead of other employees
- Use of company-owned devices instead of personal devices
- Employees signing agreements regarding the responsible use of company devices and data
- Mandatory annual training regarding security
Now you must be familiar with the advantages and disadvantages of working remotely. But what if you have never worked from home and are currently looking for such an opportunity? Are you aware of the most common work-from-home frauds and how to avoid them? Don’t worry because this article will tell you everything you need to know before joining the world of working from home!
Work-from-Home Scams To Be Aware of!
- Full salary for part-time work
Scammers use this tactic to lure people, claiming they will receive a full salary for working fewer hours. However, the promised salary is highly exaggerated, more than average salaries, and part of a scam.
- Recruiting others
Some companies may require you to add more people to their company to avail certain benefits, such as a higher wage for each person you add to the company.
- Medical billing
You are expected to purchase your own equipment, which the company promises to reimburse later. However, scammers misuse this work-from-home opportunity to steal your money.
- Faulty cheque
The fraudulent company will send you a cheque with an incorrect amount and ask you to send the difference between your salary and the cheque. However, when you cash the cheque, it will bounce, and you lose the money sent to the company.
- Pay for training
Fraudulent companies may offer training courses for home-based businesses for a hefty initial fee. However, the company steals your money without providing any training. We know the different work-from-home scams, but how can we recognize and avoid them?
Signs for Identifying Work-from-Home Scams:
- Grammatical or spelling errors in the advertisement
- Advertising how to make big money fast
- Very high salary offered for minimal work
- Have to pay initially to start working
- Pictures of celebrities or important figures used for promotion
- Contact address is a personal email address and not in the company’s name
- Minimal information is available on the company – no website or social media accounts
- Personal information – date of birth, phone number, address, bank account – is requested before the final stages of selection by the company.
- Offered the job without any interviewing or verification process of past work experience
- Poor communication skills of the employer, such as wrong punctuation or spelling
How to Avoid These Scams
- Research the company
It is always beneficial to do your own research on the company and find any websites or social media pages associated with the company. If the company is legitimate, it should have a presence online. You should also look out for any fraud articles related to the company, which could prevent you from falling victim to scammers. Moreover, the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau websites can be consulted to verify and report scammer companies.
- Contact the company directly
An HR personnel may contact you for a job and may not disclose the company’s name; however, this could indicate that you are being scammed. You should directly contact the potential company you might work for to ask whether the HR personnel works for them and whether the position you have been selected for is available. Learn more on how to protect yourself from scams.
Sources
- https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/work-from-home-scams
- https://www.wesselcpa.com/employees-working-remotely-can-increase-your-fraud-risk/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2021/12/27/this-is-the-future-of-remote-work-in-2021/?sh=27a1decf1e1d
- https://www.economicmodeling.com/2022/02/01/2022-remote-work-trends/#:~:text=The%20ongoing%20growth%20of%20remote,companies%20tell%20the%20same%20story.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/05/business/pandemic-work-from-home-coronavirus.html
- https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/how-to-find-a-real-online-job-and-avoid-the-scams-v2/
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