If you’re a business owner, you have probably dealt with deceptive consumers, independent contractors, or vendors. Large companies and small mom-and-pop stores are both at risk for fraud that can cause significant financial losses.
Common fraud directed at businesses includes:
False or forged checks: Customers can use checks to avoid paying in a number of ways. They may present a cashier’s check that is not backed by funds or has false banking information on it. They may present you a check that they’ve forged that will actually take money from someone else’s account – also known as identity theft.
Phishing scams: Scammers often send phishing emails to individuals but businesses are also susceptible. Sometimes scammers will pretend to be a bank, creditor, or vendor asking for private business information that then gives the scammer access to the business’s banking information or customer credit card information.