Are you planning to lock up your business over the holidays? This time of year when business is slow provides a great opportunity to give you and your employees some well-deserved time off.

However, it also opens opportunities for the unscrupulous to take advantage of your absence. Here are some suggestions to have a happy and secure holiday.

Office Security

Use the same technique smart homeowners apply when on vacation; set some in-office lights on timers. This gives the impression that someone may be working, and discourages potential thieves from attempting to break in.

If your office complex has a security force, let them know when you’ll be gone so that they can pay special attention. If there is no private security and your office is open to the street, let local law enforcement know so that they will drive by a bit more often to check for potential problems. Also, if you have any neighboring businesses you trust, ask them to keep an eye out for suspicious behavior.

If your office has windows that open to the street, leave lights on at night and the blinds open so that police officers and others can see inside. This lack of privacy keeps thieves uninterested in your property.

Make sure to arm your ASG alarm system and let us know when you will be gone and when the office will open again. Make sure we have your home and cell numbers in case of any problems.

Technology Security

Turn off any computers, particularly any network servers in your office. Even with fairly good firewalls, hackers can take advantage of the holidays to attempt to access your customer and supplier information. Make it inaccessible by eliminating the network access for the duration of your closure. If you or employees need to access certain files, arrange to minimize exposure. Your IT specialist can help with this.

Make sure your virus and other updates are current before logging off your systems. This will make it safer when everyone logs back on after the holidays.

Protect your customers, suppliers and employees by shredding any discarded documents containing personal information. Identification thieves look for the piles of paper that are tossed at the end of the year for opportunities to obtain normally secure information. Keep any computer files with personal information in password-protected and encrypted files. Do not store personal information in unlocked file cabinets with open access. Stolen identification problems are rife during the holidays.

Holiday Scams

The holidays are a popular time for small-time con artists to collect money for nonexistent charities or sell stolen goods. Don’t ever give money directly to someone soliciting funds except for groups such as the Salvation Army whose collectors have proper identification and are positioned in public areas with permission. Instead, ask for a brochure and gift envelope. Check the legitimacy of the charity online before donating.

If your office wants to adopt a family for the holidays, work through a charitable organization to find the family and donate the appropriate gifts. By doing this the organization will do the legwork of ensuring that the selected family legitimately needs help.

If you or your office is approached to buy valuable items for noticeably under sticker price, remember the old adage, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Turn down all such offers. The goods may be stolen, pirated or fake.

Have a Happy Holiday

Keeping things secure does not mean becoming suspicious of everyone and constantly worrying about the worst that can happen. Instead, just do what you can to ensure the security of your business, employees and customers, and then relax and enjoy the holidays. And be sure to let us know if we can do anything to keep your holidays more worry-free and happy.