Digital Strategy BY LAURIE HERRERA


STEP UP SOCIAL CYBERSECURITY > There’s a lot to consider — and a lot at stake — when it comes to keeping your social media accounts secure. The fallout can be immense, compromising finances, damaging customer relation- ships, and unraveling years of branding and marketing dollars. Lisa Plaggemier, executive director


of National Cybersecurity Alliance, says basic cybersecurity strategies are quick, easy, and cheap or free. Many cybercriminals won’t spend a lot of time


trying to take advantage of the average business, so it doesn’t take much to keep them at bay, she says. “They’re looking for the most


amount of revenue with the least amount of effort, just like the rest of us,” says Plaggemier. “You just want to make it difficult for them. … If you put enough speedbumps in front of them that it’s too difficult for them to take advantage of you, they’ll move on to another victim.”


SCAMMER GOES AFTER GIVEAWAY The giveaway was as perfect as a day in the life of Barbie — until it wasn’t. Swan Street Florist put together a Barbie-themed package in cele-


bration of the blockbuster movie “Barbie,” which released in July. It had everything a girl could want: pink flowers, pink candy-coated strawber- ries, a Barbie balloon, and two tickets for the film on opening night. The Salamanca, New York flower shop promoted the giveaway on


Facebook and Instagram, asking their followers to comment on the post and tag three friends. And that’s where it all went wrong. “The notifications were going off like crazy,” says Amy Rivera, owner


and lead designer. “People were inboxing us, saying, ‘Did I really win?’” At first, Rivera thought someone hacked her business’s Facebook account. But the messages hadn’t come from her. Instead, someone created a Facebook page using the business’s same name and profile photo. The cloned account mes- saged everyone who commented on the post, telling them they had won, and directing them to a web- site to input their credit card num- ber in order to receive the package. “We were quick on it,” says


Rivera. “We got on [Facebook] and let people know that we’ll never ask for your personal info for a free giveaway.” Swan Street Florist randomly


selected the giveaway’s winner over a Facebook livestream to ensure followers knew who actually won. But even after the winner was announced, the


cloned account continued to send bogus winning messages. As far as Rivera knows, no one fell for the scam. But the experience


took a lot of fun out of the giveaway, she says. — Laurie Herrera


Monitor social media activity.


Because social media platforms don’t validate identities at creation, there’s nothing a business owner can do to pre- vent someone from creating a cloned account. Plaggemier says businesses whose accounts have been cloned should report them immediately. Look for warning signs, such as private mes- sages from followers commenting on information you haven’t sent or posted. Business owners also need to check in regularly to ensure their accounts hav- en’t been hacked. Use a password manager. “A lot of


us have a bad habit of using the same password over and over again,” says Plaggemier. If there’s a data security breach at one company, cybercriminals gain access to the password people use at every company. Another common mistake is not changing passwords every few months, or creating new pass- words that are too similar. Password managers create and remember unique passwords with random characters. Most password managers carry a low monthly or annual fee. Enable two-factor authentication.


Plaggemier says this is the greatest step a business can take to safeguard all their online accounts, including email, social media, and any websites that require logins. Two-factor authentica- tion requires users to input single-use security codes, which are usually sent by text, every time someone tries to log in. Even if a password is leaked in a security breach, cybercriminals won’t be able to log into the account without the sin- gle-use security code. Get training. Plaggemier says many


companies that businesses already use, such as banks and insurance providers, offer free or low-cost cybersecurity training for business owners and employees. The National Cybersecurity Alliance also offers programs and webinars for small and medium-sized businesses.


Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for Floral Management.


48 FLORAL MANAGEMENT | November/December 2023 | WWW.SAFNOW.ORG


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