Too often the scams that con honest people out of their hard-earned money are viewed as impacting only individuals or consumers. Business owners and their employees also need to be aware of how these scams, or variations of them, can swindle businesses.
It’s important to remember that even if a scam only affects one employee, it can still impact the business.
The affected employee can become distracted, not only because of the impact on that specific person and family, but also because of the time it takes during the day to track and clear up any continuing problems tied to the scam. This is especially true with personal identity thefts.
Here are a few scams that have been found to victimize businesses along with some tips to keep your company out of harm’s way.
Office supplies
This scam steals from your company through fake invoices, often for only a couple hundred dollars, for office supplies that are never sent.
This relatively low amount makes it easier for company personnel to quickly sign off and feel it is not worth their time to check the invoice’s validity, which would be done if it were for a larger amount.
You might find it hard to believe this scam is worth the thief’s effort to get only a couple of hundred dollars. But remember, the scammer is sending similar invoices to hundreds of other companies.
Each could be sending in hundreds of dollars in payments for undelivered supplies. It does not take much for scammers to rake in tens or hundreds of thousands of scammed dollars.
Fast fixes
Scammers know that you have a lot on your mind running your business and will attempt to take advantage of your lack of focus.
So when you’re considering a contractor or repair service, remember you can only have two out of these three: good, fast or cheap. If you want something good and fast, it likely will not be cheap. If you want something cheap and fast, don’t expect it to be good.
When a contractor “just happens to be in the neighborhood” or is doing work nearby, and offers to do work for you, it’s often best to be cautious.
The pitch may be that they have extra materials and could do some work for you. Their scam is to get your money upfront, perhaps to pay for added materials.
Once you pay this type of scam contractor, he disappears with the money and no work is ever done. Having access to your property also provides an opportunity for these people to check what valuables you may have for a future burglary or ID theft.
Identity theft
Scams involving business orders, contractors and business-related records may not be the first things owners think of when operating their businesses.
These issues, however, need to be considered periodically. Without attention to these scams — and their prevention — your business could easily be losing thousands of dollars, be an unsafe place to work or be a conduit for illegal operations. ●
