Greater Shreveport Chamber: Don't Be Fooled By These Common Business Scams

Press release from the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce:

Paul Savage

4/1/2021

Here is a list of frequent methods scammers use to target small business owners.

Fake Invoices

Fake invoices are one of the biggest ways scammers try to obtain additional income from businesses. These invoices often use publicly available information, such as domain registrations, to make them seem more authentic.

Domain SEO and privacy protection invoices are two of the most common. First, know who your vendors are and ensure any information you receive comes directly from them. Check the actual email address to ensure it is legitimately coming from that company. A missing letter or common misspellings are ways scammers try to fool business owners.

Phishing Schemes

These types of schemes can be quite convincing as they appear to be coming from a legitimate sender. However, they are often just using this guise to obtain your personal information, bank account information, or passwords. These types of schemes often come in the form of an email with a link. That link typically brings you to an exact replica of a website you frequently use.

Check to ensure that the URL matches the company who provided it. If it does not, do not enter any personal information into the site. Before doing so, it is typically best to find the company’s customer support number from their website and contact them directly to ensure they need this information. Do not use phone numbers included in the email as they may be fraudulent as well. If the vendor does require the information, have them send you the link directly to cut out any middleman who might be trying to obtain your information.

Office Supply Scams

These scammers will pose as your office supply vendor and attempt to remind you that it is time to reorder some of your inventory items. While you may actually get toner or paper, it is typically very highly priced. Ensure your staff has procedures in place for ordering inventory and that they are aware of these types of scams to ensure your business does not get entered into contracts involuntarily. These companies sometimes will send unordered merchandise and request money for non-payment after shipping as well. You are not required to pay for something you did not order and, according to the Federal Trade Commission, you have the legal right to keep unordered items as “free gifts.”

Google Profile Updates

Many businesses have received calls from people claiming to be from Google and informing the business owner that it is time to update their information. Google will never call you to update your information. You should log directly into Google My Business to update your business’ information within the suite of Google products.

Many times, these scammers are pulling your information as they make changes in order to charge you for the listing update. Google does not charge for updates to your business.

Business Intruders

While your business may have many legitimate visitors throughout the week, it is important to keep an eye out for those casing your business. Many businesses have had people walk in only to scope out valuable items and then return to steal them.

Having a receptionist at the front of your office can help keep down unwanted foot traffic and ensure none of your valuable inventory goes missing.

This press release was produced by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.