The holidays are a busy time for businesses, which may mean you’re more distracted than usual. While your business is dealing with the holiday rush and preparing for the new year, scammers have more opportunities to take advantage of you. It’s important to stay vigilant during the busy season, because fraud doesn’t take a holiday.
Common Scams During the Holidays
- Fake Deliveries: If you receive a package you didn’t pay for, think twice. Scammers will send deliveries that you didn’t order, then demand you pay for it immediately. These scams rely on intimidation and urgency to cloud your judgement. Fake deliveries are common during the holidays because it’s the most popular time to shop, and a high volume of deliveries means it’s easy for a scam to slip through the cracks. These fake deliveries may look like they’re from a vendor or a trusted party, but always double check.
- Vendor Impersonation: A common method criminals use to impersonate vendors is invoice fraud. The scammer creates a counterfeit invoice, expecting you to pay it before you notice. During the busy holiday season, you might deal with so many transactions that you forget to check every invoice you receive.
- Business Email Compromise: With Business Email Compromise, scammers impersonate your colleagues and employees with convincing fake emails. These emails will request sensitive information or include phishing links.
- Check Fraud: Check fraud occurs when criminals create counterfeit checks in your name, usually using your real checks that they stole from the mail. Your business may mail checks for payroll or other purposes – so consider using a secure option like Check Positive Pay to prevent check fraud.
- Internal Fraud: Internal fraud is committed by employees. Your staff has easier access to checks, invoices and vendor information, making it important to always double check every transaction. Internal fraud can happen during the holidays, because like most types of fraud, it relies on you being busy and distracted.
How to Stay Protected
- Account Monitoring: Remember to monitor your accounts daily, so you’re aware of every transaction. Set up account alerts to be informed, and so you can catch suspicious activity.
- Internal Controls: Limiting employee access to payroll information can prevent internal fraud. Encourage staff to enroll in direct deposit, and keep a close eye on departments like accounting – they have access to sensitive data.
- Stay Vigilant: Even though the holidays are busy and stressful, it’s important to stay on top of your business activity. Remember to take time to verify every invoice, email and vendor interaction.
Staying informed on fraud is your best defense. If you suspect you are a victim of fraud, report it to your bank and the FTC.
Central Bank has resources to help you stay protected from fraud. Download our Business Security Toolkit today!
