Marcus Richards
Running your own small business can be costly, and making a profit takes a lot of work. However, falling for a scam targeted at your business can cause enough damage to financially ruin your business. So, it’s important to be aware of scam tactics and how they might target your business.
Telephone scams
Telephone scams aren’t just aimed at members of the public. Businesses are a big target too, perhaps because if the scammers are successful, they can trick more money out of business owners. There are some ways to protect yourself and your business from a scammer.
One approach is to search and investigate any unknown number that calls. For example, you might use UnknownPhone to search, who called me on 8006404999, if this was the number which called you. When coming across mixed reports like this, it’s important to be careful. However, with any number calling you, it’s strongly advised that you shouldn’t give out personal information. These can be used along with other pieces of information gathered on you to help in a larger scam attempt.
Banking scams
Banking scams can trick you into clicking a link that will infect your computer, or giving out your login details. Most are easy to spot, but some are more elaborate, and if you’re running a business and have dealings with the bank used in the scam, it’s easy to mistake an email for being genuine. Never click on any link, no matter how authentic it seems, and always use a secure device to log in to your bank, using the link you usually use for this.
Invoicing scams
When running a business, invoices are a regular thing, and if scammers have managed to gather enough information about your business and the people you work with, they might be able to create a convincing invoice with different payment details. This could mean you end up having to pay twice (once to a scammer, then to the genuine payee when they complain they haven’t been paid).
Theft
If you employ staff, it’s important to run background checks if they are likely to have access to cash or expensive goods. Although having something expensive stolen could draw attention, many employees who steal from the workplace get around this by skimming money over time. After a while, your losses add up to a much larger amount but aren’t noticeable until it’s too late.
Insurance scams
Another scam to be aware of is an insurance scam. This could be from employees or customers. Some people make a living by having planned accidents and claiming compensation. If you want to avoid this, installing cameras at your business and in work vehicles can save money on false claims.
Protecting yourself from scammers might seem like you have to be on the lookout all the time. Yet, by having certain measures in place, and creating a system to keep track of your business operations, you reduce the risk of being caught out.
