With the holiday season in full swing, it’s time for festive parties, family gatherings and New Year’s resolutions. Business owners thinking about goals for 2025 should be sure to include cyber security on their lists. To help with that, the Better Business Bureau offers a list of the top 10 business scams to be aware of in the coming year.

Business email compromise

Business email compromise fraud is an email phishing scam that typically targets people who pay bills in businesses, government and nonprofit organizations. In business email compromise fraud, the scammer poses as a vendor or other trusted source who emails an accountant or chief financial officer. The email asks them to wire money, buy gift cards or send personal information, often for a plausible reason. If money is sent, it goes into an account controlled by the con artist.

Phony invoices

Businesses receive fake invoices demanding payment for products or services never ordered or received. The most common scams involve office supplies, website or domain-hosting services and directory listings. If you look closely, you’ll often see the fine print that identifies the bill as a solicitation. Generally, the amount is small enough not initially to raise a red flag.

Directory scams

This scam has plagued businesses for decades. In it, con artists attempt to fool businesses into paying for a listing or ad space in a non-existent directory. Sometimes, the directory will technically exist but won’t be distributed to potential customers. Other times, the scammer might lie about being with a legitimate directory, such as the Yellow Pages. Either way, the business is billed hundreds of dollars for listing services they didn’t agree to or for ads that were never placed.

Stolen identity

Scammers often pretend to be legitimate companies to trick consumers. Scammers set up fake websites and “hijack” your company name and address. They may also use brand hijacking – blatant copying and misusing company logos and website content – to impersonate a business and deceive unsuspecting visitors. In this con, the company doesn’t necessarily lose money. However, their reputation is tarnished when angry customers ripped off by scammers think the real company is responsible.

Charity pitches

Most businesses are regularly asked to donate funds to charitable causes. While many requests are legitimate, small businesses become victims of fraudulent or deceptive charitable solicitation schemes every year.

Phishing scams

Phishing scams attempt to steal sensitive information about your business. These scams often appear to be legitimate emails or text messages. However, when you click on the link, you download a virus that captures personal information or loads a form that asks for bank account or credit card details.

Office supply scams

Businesses receive an unexpected telephone call from someone claiming to represent a reputable company with which the firm often does business. Sometimes scammers will even call in advance to find out what brand of supplies or equipment the business uses. The scam caller will try to sell the business surplus merchandise at a reduced price, citing a cancellation or over-order by another purchaser. The merchandise doesn’t exist.

Coupon books

Small business operators are often approached to participate in coupon book promotions. The business offers discounts or extras in coupon books that promoters sell to consumers. Problems occur if the promoters change the terms of the coupons, oversell the books or distribute them outside the company’s normal business area. Ensure the coupon book is promoted by someone you trust and has clearly spelled-out terms.

Vanity award scams

A vanity award scheme capitalizes on a company’s excitement for an award that essentially holds no value. This con typically targets business owners through email campaigns. The scam email congratulates the owner on their selection for the award and invites them to click a link for further details about how to claim the prize. But of course, claiming the honor involves paying a several-hundred-dollar fee.

Overpayment scams

In this scam, the person you are doing business with sends you a check for more than the amount they owe you. Then, they instruct you to wire the balance back to them. Or they send a check and tell you to deposit it, keep part of the amount for your compensation, and then wire the rest back. The results are the same: the check eventually bounces, and you’re stuck, responsible for the full amount, including what you wired to the scammer.

SOURCE: Better Business Bureau