Email Forwarding Risks for Small Businesses

Email forwarding can be useful, but it can also create risk when it is used without review or documentation.

Why this matters

Forwarding rules may send business messages outside the company, duplicate sensitive information, or hide suspicious activity after an account is compromised.

Small businesses should know which forwarding rules exist, why they exist, and who approved them.

Common signs of the problem

Small businesses usually notice the issue through daily confusion, delays, repeated support requests, or security gaps.

• Messages are forwarded to personal email accounts.
• Forwarding rules are not documented.
• Former employee mailboxes forward to unknown addresses.
• Employees create forwarding rules without approval.
• Mailbox rules are not reviewed after suspicious activity.

What to review first

Start with the items below. The goal is to create a clear, practical process that can be repeated.

1. Review forwarding rules for all key mailboxes.
2. Remove forwarding to personal accounts where possible.
3. Document approved forwarding.
4. Review mailbox delegation.
5. Review offboarding email steps.
6. Check forwarding after suspicious email activity.
7. Create approval steps for new forwarding rules.

How J3 Systems Group LLC can help

J3 Systems Group LLC helps small businesses and nonprofits set up, secure, and clean up business email across Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace.

Support can include email account setup, shared mailbox setup, aliases, forwarding reviews, phishing risk reduction, offboarding cleanup, and business email documentation.

Next steps

Review your current setup, identify the gaps that create the most risk or confusion, and decide which item should be cleaned up first.