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 It's important to be aware of scams - there are a lot of them out there and they tend to target small businesses. They rely on the fact that you're busy and that you'll hand out information without thinking about it. There are many different ways that they'll try to catch you out, but here are some common ones:
- Directories & advertising - small businesses can be misled into paying for a directory listing or advertisement that may not exist.
- Fax-back scams - unsolicited faxes that offer great deals and ask you to fax back, but the cost of faxing back is exorbitant and details are buried in fine print.
- Office supply scams - small businesses are invoiced for office supplies that were never ordered, supplied or agreed to.
- Domain name renewal scams - where you are sent a fake renewal notice for your own domain name, or one that is similar to yours.
- Business opportunities - where you are promised success in a particular business venture.
- Work from home scams - where you are promised huge incomes for little work, but where you generally have to either send money or recruit other people.
- Guaranteed employment/income scams - where you are guaranteed a job or income level, but where you have to pay an upfront fee for a "business plan" or "materials".
- Transferring money for someone else - basically, you'll have to give up your bank account details to scammers, and they'll use your bank account to launder their illegal money.
- Pyramid schemes - where you pay a small amount to someone who asks for it, then send the request to 10/20/100 people asking them for the same small amount to be sent to you. Pyramid schemes invariably collapse when the supply of victims dries up.
- Computer prediction software (betting scams) - expensive software packages that promise to predict the result of sporting events or share market movements.
Basically, anything where you are asked for money or your bank details should be treated with a healthy amount of suspicion and caution.
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