Customer Support Software Featured Articles

In the quest for better customer support, it’s not uncommon for companies to send out proactive communications to the customer base. While there are certain things a company will tell a customer, such as notifications about new upgrades, specials or limited time offers, there is definitely information companies won’t ask for. For instance, if we get an email from our bank asking us to verify login information, it’s a phishing email that didn’t come from the bank.

While this one is easy to spot in the hacking world, not all attempts are so easy to decipher. For instance, how do you know the census request is official, even if it arrives in the mail? Can you be sure the person calling on the other end of the line is actually representing the company he or she claims? If you don’t believe the caller, this is a problem for customer support software as it makes it more difficult for a company to make a direct connection.

One provider of customer support software, TeamSupport, recently reported on problems they encountered with a phishing attempt that seemed to come from within its own walls. For a cloud-based application company, hacking is a nightmare as customers are promised their information is safe. After a thorough investigation, the company determined that TeamSupport.com had not been hacked, but instead a compromised Gmail account taken over and used on their behalf. This occurred simply because an employee had given in to a phishing attack at some point in the past.

The reality is there are people who spend all of their time looking for ways to hack systems, compromise email accounts, trick otherwise honest individuals into unknowingly sharing private information and more. They generally don’t need much to get in and then the damage is quickly done. It can be a nightmare in an environment where the trust of the customer base is essential to ongoing success. For TeamSupport, they learned a couple of valuable lessons that they shared in a recent Business2Community post.

First, enable two-factor authentication on corporate Gmail accounts from the start. This makes it much harder for phishing attacks to be successful and can prevent compromising situations. It also can pay to investigate how DKIM and DMARC can help in your environment. While they aren’t foolproof, they can help prevent email spoofing. Finally, be honest with customers and proactively provide information. This is great advice from a company that offers customer support software as they found it creates respect and appreciation among the customer base.

If you’re actively monitoring activities and taking a proactive approach when a problem occurs, you’ll be much better positioned to solve the issue and prevent a recurrence. And while it’s tough to tell your customers when you’ve made a mistake, it’s still the honest thing to do.