For anyone living in the twenty-first century, the bombardment of information happens constantly, from text messages, phone calls, and email, to social media and smartphone app notifications. For businesspeople, the constant barrage of communication is amplified, meaning that sifting through all the communication and differentiating phony requests from legitimate ones can be difficult. Problems can arise for business owners in the realm of banking in particular, as scammers have become increasingly adept at masquerading their nefarious attempts as seemingly harmless and routine communication from trusted sources. 

One of the most common ways in which scammers can target your business is with what Forbes, in a June article, termed an “overpayment scam.” These types of scams start with the fraudster purchasing a good or service online or remotely, in such a context that they would mail the seller a check or money order as payment. 

With this type of scam, the scammer mails a fake check to the seller for an amount greater than the cost of the goods or service purchased and then requests that the seller deposit the check and send the extra money back to them. When this happens, however, the bank charges the seller a fee for the fake check and your business loses the money from the sale altogether. 

Another common type of scam is known as the unsolicited check scam. With this scam, you or your business will receive a check in the mail for what appears to be a rebate of some kind or a refund on something you may have purchased. Unfortunately, if you endorse the check, you may be legally bound to some fine print terms, such as a subscription or membership, that you did not want, and you will get charged continually unless you are able to cancel it. 

These types of scam memberships are often difficult to cancel, as the terms of cancellation are often such that the window of time to cancel is very limited or that you must jump through many different hoops in order to cancel. It may also be difficult to reach anyone via phone or email in order to cancel the membership or subscription. Scammers often try to make it as annoying as possible to cancel your forced subscription in an attempt to dissuade you from succeeding and to therefore maximize their profits. 

The following is an actual unsolicited check scam, published by the Consumer Protection Division of the state of Georgia: “SIMPLY ENDORSE AND CASH OR DEPOSIT THIS CHECK AT ANY BANK TO AUTOMATICALLY ENROLL IN XXXXXX starting with thirty days free. Unless you call to cancel during this trial, XXXXXX will notify XXXXXXX, the issuer of your XXXXXX credit card, to bill the $9.99 monthly membership fee, or then-current fee, to your credit card each month, without your having to do anything further. You can cancel at any time after the trial period for a full refund of your current month’s paid membership fee. The $2.50 check is yours to keep.”

In today’s climate, however, those numbers may be inflated in order to make the deal more attractive so that victims will be more likely to take the bait. To be safe, simply do not endorse any checks that you receive unexpectedly from unfamiliar organizations. 

Our society is internet-driven, so it would seem at first that mail-based scams, such as these, might be on the way out. But according to Tonya Lowry, information security officer at Lumbee Guaranty Bank, they still pose a threat to more traditionally-run businesses, and since those businesses often have a greater reliance on physical mail, they are more susceptible to getting stuck in this trap. 

With the increase in online banking, another scam that has become increasingly common is the automatic withdrawal scam. Similar to the unsolicited check scam, this type of scam will involve a scammer reaching out to you or your business with a phone call or mailer indicating that you qualify for a special offer of some sort, and requesting your banking information to ensure that you qualify for the deal. Of course, once the scammers have your banking information, your account is compromised, and susceptible to automatic withdrawals that you did not mean to authorize. 

Probably the most ubiquitous type of banking scam is phishing. Phishing is simply receiving an email requesting you to send your bank account information in order to verify your account, after which the scammers have access to your account. Lowry says, “We have noticed a lot of phishing scams lately … Our customers’ accounts may have been hacked somehow and there have been phishing emails sent out from their accounts.”

Lowry cites the jump in digitization as a result of COVID as a contributing factor to the increase in phishing scams that target businesses, often hacking the accounts of legitimate businesses to use them as a cover for their scamming efforts. 

Lowry continued, “Many businesses don’t have a dedicated IT person or aren’t too tech savvy, so safeguarding their businesses using antivirus software is important.” In addition, Lowry recommended changing your business’ account passwords every 60-90 days, or at least every six months in order to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of phishing scams. 

She also added as a side note that she has seen numerous IRS scams on the rise, that target victims through text and phone call, requesting sensitive information from an individual or business. She made it clear that the IRS simply does not use phone or text to reach out for information — they will always send physical mail to communicate with you or your business. 

While scammers are certainly on the prowl for unsuspecting victims, it can be much easier to avoid falling into one of these traps once you know how these scams present themselves. Antivirus and malware protection for your business computers can be a helpful tool in protecting yourself and your business from hackers and scammers in phishing schemes, but with many of these types of scams, the biggest safeguard is to simply avoid taking the bait by being able to recognize phony mailers and emails on sight. Once you know what to look for, avoiding these types of scams becomes much easier to evade.