As part of Small Business Week in Timmins, the first annual Technology Trade Show was held Friday.

The theme for the event was cyber security, and businesses from around the region were on hand to discuss the latest in online fraud prevention.

Businesses and individuals alike can be susceptible to cybercrime.

Experts among the small business owners in attendance at Friday’s trade show say prevention starts with education.

“It starts off with talking about it. Communicating about it and educating yourself about how you can mitigate the risk.” said Paul Ouimette of NEOnet.

Kathy MacDonald is a former police officer turned cybersecurity expert. She says people need to be more aware of their own activity online.

“People need to be a little bit more selective of where people give their personal information and the amount of information they freely give out. Basic contact, demographic information, but also confidential information.” said MacDonald.

Phishing scams and ransomware are two of the more common scams that affect businesses and individuals.

Experts say backing up data is key to avoid falling prey, but maybe more important is to trust your gut.

“If you get an email that doesn't seem quite right, question it. Don't blindly accept a message that says ‘we're your tech support team and we're here. I need your password in order to correct or install a piece of software on your computer.’” said Ouimette.

IT professional Gaetan Allard says to be careful when clicking on links in emails.

“You might get an email that looks legitimate and click on a link, and now you're infected, and you didn't even know.” said Allard.

It is okay to question the authenticity of digital things.

“People need to think what they're doing online, how they can be more diligent and skeptical?” said MacDonald.

October is Cybersecurity Month in Canada, so there are plenty of educational resources available online. Experts say familiarizing yourself with the type of attacks and how they can be prevented will go a long way to protecting your personal and professional information.