StuTech

💰 Fraud Prevention Friday: Your Bank Is Calling. Or Is It?

Your phone rings.

The caller ID shows the name of your bank.

The person knows your name and says there has been suspicious activity on your account.

Then comes the urgency:

“We need to verify your account immediately.”

STOP.

Caller ID can be spoofed. A criminal can make a call appear to come from a number or company you recognize.

If someone claiming to be your bank calls and asks for passwords, verification codes, PINs, or other sensitive information, hang up.

Then call your bank yourself using the number printed on the back of your debit or credit card.

Never use a number the caller gives you.

A legitimate fraud department won't mind you verifying who you're talking to.

A scammer probably will.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

🍂 Threat Awareness Thursday: Welcome Back to Arizona — But Be Careful What You Announce Online

October is here. The mornings are finally getting cooler, and across Arizona our winter residents are starting to return.

If you're coming back to your Arizona home after spending the summer somewhere else, there's something I want you to think about before posting:

“Back in Arizona for the winter!”

Seems harmless, right?

But what did you just tell everyone who can see that post?

You may have told them your other home is now empty.

Criminals don't always need sophisticated hacking tools. Sometimes we give them information ourselves through Facebook posts, photos, check-ins, public profiles, and conversations online.

Before posting about where you are, ask yourself what that post might reveal about where you aren't.

Enjoy Arizona. Enjoy the cooler weather. Welcome back!

Just don't give strangers your travel schedule.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

💼 Wednesday, September 30 – Work IT Wednesday

Your Business Needs a Technology Exit Plan

Businesses plan for employees leaving.

But what about technology vendors?

What happens if you decide to change IT companies?

Can you access your passwords?

Your licenses?

Your cloud accounts?

Your backups?

Your documentation?

💼 Today's Tip

Never wait until you're unhappy with a technology provider to find out what they control.

Your business should always have access to its own:

🔑 Administrative credentials

📄 Documentation

☁️ Cloud accounts

🌐 Domain information

💾 Data and backups

A good technology partner shouldn't make it difficult for you to leave.

They should make you want to stay.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

💡 Tuesday, September 29 – Tuesday Tech Tips

Your Browser Can Make Text Bigger Too

Some websites use text that's simply too small.

You don't have to struggle to read it.

💡 Today's Tip

On a Windows computer, try:

Ctrl and + to zoom in.

Ctrl and - to zoom out.

Ctrl and 0 to return to normal.

On a Mac, use Command instead of Ctrl.

It's quick, easy, and works in most web browsers.

Your eyes will appreciate it.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

🖥️ Monday, September 28 – Managed Services Monday

Technology Should Be Maintained Before It Breaks

We maintain our cars.

We change air filters.

We service air conditioners.

But sometimes we expect computers to run forever without attention.

🖥️ Behind the Scenes

Proactive IT maintenance looks for things like:

✅ Missing updates

✅ Security issues

✅ Storage problems

✅ Device health

✅ Backup failures

The goal isn't to fix more problems.

It's to prevent more problems.

That's the difference between reactive support and managed services.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

❤️ Sunday, September 27 – Sunday Support Reminder

Call Before You Click

Sometimes you just get that feeling.

"This email looks strange."

"This message doesn't sound like my friend."

"Why would my bank be asking me this?"

Listen to that feeling.

❤️ Today's Reminder

You don't have to figure out whether something is a scam by yourself.

Before clicking the link...

Before sending the money...

Before giving someone access to your computer...

Ask someone you trust.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying:

"I'm not sure about this."

Those may be the smartest words you say all day.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

📱 Saturday, September 26 – Safe Social Saturday

Not Everyone Needs to See Your Birthday

Your birthday seems harmless.

Your hometown seems harmless.

Your mother's maiden name seems harmless.

Put enough little pieces together...

And someone may know much more about you than you intended.

📱 Today's Tip

Review the personal information displayed publicly on your social media profiles.

Ask yourself:

Does everyone on the internet really need to know this?

If the answer is no...

Make it private or remove it.

Privacy isn't about hiding.

It's about choosing what you share.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

🛡️ Friday, September 25 – Fraud Prevention Friday
🚨 LET’S GET REAL ABOUT FRAUD. IT’S NOT A JOKE ANYMORE.

At 4:50 this morning, I got a text on the StuTech office line.

Yes, 4:50 AM.

And texting the office line that early is fine. My phone is silenced, and I happened to already be awake.

But here’s what bothered me:

Once again, StuTech was hearing about fraud AFTER it happened.

Someone had apparently been victimized. Accounts were being dealt with. Family was involved. Questions were being asked.

And at 5:00 in the morning, after the damage has already been done, there’s only so much anyone can do.

Folks, this crap is happening EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Someone clicks the link.

Someone gives out a verification code.

Someone believes the person calling is really from their bank.

Someone lets the “Microsoft technician” into their computer.

Someone responds to a fake fraud alert.

Someone sends money because the person on the phone sounds convincing.

And THEN I get the call or text:

“Stu, what do I do?”

We have to stop treating fraud like something that happens to somebody else.

If you’re reading this, you could be next.

I don't care how smart you are.

I don't care how careful you think you are.

I don't care if you've never fallen for a scam before.

And I don't care if you pay for LifeLock or another monitoring service.

Those services may provide monitoring, alerts and recovery assistance.

Monitoring is NOT prevention.

Today's criminals are sophisticated. They're patient. They're using stolen information, spoofed phone numbers, convincing emails, text messages, social engineering and AI.

And they only need you to make ONE mistake.

So how about we stop waiting until AFTER the money is gone?

How about we stop waiting until AFTER someone has access to the computer?

How about we stop waiting until AFTER the password has been stolen?

BE PROACTIVE.

Protect your devices. Use multifactor authentication. Use unique passwords. Keep everything updated. Learn what current scams look like.

And most importantly:

STOP.

Before you click.

Before you give someone a code.

Before you give someone remote access.

Before you move money.

Before you give out personal information.

If something doesn't feel right, STOP AND ASK SOMEONE YOU TRUST.

I'd much rather hear:

“Stu, this seems suspicious. Can you take a look?”

than:

“Stu, I think I got scammed. What do I do now?”

Fraud isn't funny.

It isn't something that only happens to “other people.”

And it sure as hell isn't going away.

STOP BEING REACTIVE. START BEING PROACTIVE.

Because one day, “That would never happen to me” can become:

“Stu, it happened to me.”

StuTech
Secured. Supported. Simple.

🚨 Thursday, September 24 – Threat Awareness Thursday

That Invoice Could Be Fake

An invoice arrives from a company you recognize.

The logo looks right.

The amount seems reasonable.

But the banking information has changed.

That's a major warning sign.

🚨 Today's Tip

Never change payment or banking information based solely on an email.

Call your vendor using a phone number you already trust and verify the change verbally.

Business email scams can look incredibly convincing.

One phone call can prevent a very expensive mistake.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.

💼 Wednesday, September 23 – Work IT Wednesday

Who Has the Passwords to Your Business?

Here's a question every business owner should be able to answer:

If your IT person disappeared tomorrow, could you still access everything?

Your internet account.

Domain name.

Microsoft 365.

Website.

Backups.

Security tools.

Cloud applications.

💼 Today's Tip

Make sure the business—not one employee or outside vendor—controls its important accounts and credentials.

Keep critical information securely documented and make sure more than one authorized person knows how to access it.

Your technology belongs to your business.

So should the keys to it.

StuTech — Secured. Supported. Simple.