Every year the end of the year brings two things at once: offices wind down, and scammers wind up. In October Netsafe reminded New Zealanders to stay alert as spending picks up towards Black Friday and Christmas, and its advice applies just as well to businesses: treat urgency as a red flag, and check the web address before you trust a page. Quiet offices and busy inboxes are exactly the conditions scammers look for.
None of this needs to spoil the break. Here is a simple checklist, split into three parts.
Before you close the doors
- Update and restart everything. Ask everyone to install pending updates and restart their computer before they leave. A device that has been patched and rebooted is a far quieter device over the holidays.
- Test one restore. Pick an important file or folder and restore it from backup. Ten minutes now means you know, rather than hope, that you could recover. (More on why in One Copy Is Not a Backup.)
- Write down who to call. Make sure everyone knows who to contact if something goes wrong while the office is closed, and that the number is saved somewhere they can find it without logging in.
- Keep out-of-office replies short. "We are closed until 6 January, for urgent help call…" is plenty. There is no need to list who is away and for how long.
- Switch off what nobody needs. Shared computers, screens and equipment that will sit unused for weeks can simply be shut down.
While the office is quiet
- Agree a "call to confirm" rule for payments. If an email asks to change bank details or pay an urgent invoice, the answer is always a phone call to a number you already have. This one habit stops one of the most expensive scams around, and it matters most when the usual people are on leave.
- Be wary of delivery notices. Fake courier texts and "missed delivery" emails spike at this time of year. If you are expecting a parcel, check its status on the courier's own website, not through the link.
- Gift cards are never a real request. A message from "the boss" asking someone to quickly buy gift cards is a well-known scam. A friendly reminder to the team before the break makes it easy to spot.
- Look after devices on the move. Laptops and phones travelling to the bach or the beach should have a screen lock and "find my device" switched on. If one goes missing, tell your IT team early: managed devices can be locked remotely.
When you are back in January
- Give updates a head start. Expect devices to want a round of updates on the first morning back. Let them run before diving into the inbox.
- Take a fresh look at accounts. The new year is a natural moment to remove access for anyone who left in the past year and to check that everyone still has multi-factor sign-in switched on.
- Read anything unusual twice. The first week back brings a flood of email, and that is when a convincing fake invoice is easiest to miss.
The best IT over summer is the kind you never think about. A short checklist in December is how you get there.
If something does go wrong while you are away, our earlier piece on the true cost of an IT emergency explains why a quick call early always beats a fix later. If you would like us to run through this checklist with you before the break, or to keep an eye on things while the office is closed, give us a call on 09 974 2379. We are happy to help, even if you are not a client yet.
