This National Preparedness Month, make a plan for your business

How will your business operate if important systems are down due to a natural disaster or weather emergency?  Do you have backup files of critical data?  And do your communications, IT, and operations staff know what to do during an emergency?  September is National Preparedness Month.  Whether you run a small retail store, nonprofit, or a company with many locations, it’s a good time to plan ahead to minimize damage to your business if a natural disaster strikes.  Scammers love a crisis and often target people and businesses during and after disasters to try to steal their money and personal or business information.  The FTC has tools and information to help you avoid fraud as you prepare for and recover from an emergency.  Here are a few points to consider as you’re making or updating your business’s emergency plan.

• Protect your staff, come rain or shine.  Sharing preparedness information with your employees can help keep them safe during an emergency.  Dealing with Weather Emergencies is a one-stop shop that covers emergency preparedness, financial recovery, and scam-spotting.  It also includes links to resources from other government agencies.
• Back up your data.  How would your business respond if a weather emergency destroyed essential paperwork or damaged devices?  Work with your IT staff to ensure you’re taking a secure approach to backing up important records.
• Alert people in your community about the risks of disaster-related fraud.  Take advantage of your standing in the business community – and your social media network – to alert people about disaster-related frauds.  Dealing with Weather Emergencies features social media shareables to help amplify your voice.
• Order free FTC print publications like Scams and Your Small Business at ftc.gov/bulkorder and have them available for employees, customers, or to distribute in your community.  All FTC publications are free to order and there are no charges for shipping.