October is Small Business Month and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Mainland BC wants to help your business thrive and keep it unscathed from scams that targeting businesses.
Small Business Month celebrates the contributions that small businesses make to our local communities.
Throughout the year, the BBB celebrates their community of trustworthy businesses (predominantly small) who have been screened and vetted to allow them to display the sign of a Better Business. Through support of our Accredited Businesses, the BBB sets standards for business performance, celebrates marketplace role models, engages with and educates consumers and businesses, and calls out substandard marketplace behaviour, such as scams and frauds. Our mission is to advance marketplace trust which can only truly be accomplished by working in partnership with great businesses.
Additionally, the BBB aims to support small businesses in communities across North America by providing information and tips to avoid scams and fraudsters.
“It's the time of year that small businesses should be celebrated, not scammed,” said Neesha Hothi, spokesperson for BBB Mainland BC and Yukon Territory.
“Unfortunately, scammers don’t take time off and can often attempt to leverage special occasions or celebratory time frames. They hope that businesses are so caught up in the sentiment that they’ll look past the red flags.”
Here are the three leading scams the BBB says are targeting businesses, as well as five tips on how to avoid them.
Scams
Trademark phishing scams
Your business receives an email claiming that your trademark is at risk of being stolen and that the company reaching out can handle all the required paperwork to ensure that doesn’t happen. They may even offer a deal on the price. Unfortunately, this company likely has no connection to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and is looking to scare you into sending them money or personal information.
A business shared their experience with an attempted trademark phishing scam to the BBB Scam Tracker. Here is an excerpt of the scammers message to the business:
“Immediate action is crucial to protect your intellectual property rights and prevent any further unauthorized use of your brand name. We are prepared to swiftly proceed with filing your trademark application and opposing the applicant's registration on your behalf. Please understand that once the applicant's classes are paid for with CIPO, our ability to intervene effectively will be limited.”
- 2024 BBB example from Vancouver
Fake invoice scam
Scammers create phony invoices that appear to be for products or services your business actually uses — perhaps office or cleaning supplies or domain name registrations. Scammers hope the person who is responsible for paying the bills will assume the invoices are legitimate and not overly scrutinize them. Scammers know that when the invoice is for something critical, like keeping your website up and running, you may pay first and ask questions later.
In April 2024, the BBB received a scam report which attempted to get a local business owner to send an invoice of $278 to “renew their domain name and retain exclusive rights.” It was the second one the company had received so far and from that, knew that it was a scam and did not lose any money.
Advance fee loan scam
No matter how much you need a loan, don't overlook this big red flag. Companies that allegedly "guarantee" loans without seeing your credit history are very likely scams. These scammers charge upfront fees to lock in a loan, but once you hand over the payment, the "lender” either vanishes and you never receive the money.
Advance fee loans are illegal in Canada, it is illegal for companies to promise a loan and require payment before they deliver. If you or your business need a loan, watch out for red flags, never send payment beforehand, and go with one of the many trusted professionals you can find on BBB.org.
Tips
- Research the company contacting you
- Is the business reputable? Are you able to find them online? Do they have a marketplace history? Do they have a physical location you can visit? Make sure you check BBB.org for their contact information, complaint history, and customer reviews.
- Create a process for inspecting invoices
- Always check that goods or services were both ordered and delivered/completed before paying an invoice. Designate a small group of employees with authority to approve purchases and pay the bills.
- Train employees to be critical thinkers
- Most business owners trust employees to handle telephone inquiries. Take the initiative to coach your staff, so they’re prepared to deal with suspicious callers. Always encourage your team to ask questions and keep personal information private until the legitimacy of a caller can be verified. Immediately end the call if any threats have been made.
- Create a whitelist of trusted email addresses
- This ensures that emails from unknown addresses will be blocked or flagged. This minimizes the risk of phishing/spoofed emails getting through. In this same vein, never open emails, click on attachments or links from an unknown address as they may contain malware used to compromise accounts.
- Add two-factor authentication on your company logins
- Ensure all software, including anti-virus software, is up to date on all computers, servers and mobile devices used by the business. Make sure all company staff change their passwords at least twice a year, especially when employees leave.
