Despite how gratifying it is, owning a business doesn’t come without risks. Regardless of whether you’re only starting your business or it has been part of the market long enough for you to be familiar with its dangers, anyone can encounter these risks. However, being susceptible to them is a different issue altogether.
Scamming is not a new concept. Even outside the business world, this issue still runs rampant. Be that as it may, as an entrepreneur, these scams could be a huge blow to your business if not foreseen ahead of time. So, to help protect your business from scams and frauds, we have provided some of the best practices to do so. But before we get into that, let’s identify first what a scammer does.
Tactics Of A Scammer
Most business transactions can be secured by various fraud protection or security systems, this only applies if your business has a digital platform. For those without one, scammers might approach you more traditionally. Still, their techniques remain the same:
- They invoke a sense of urgency.
- They use threats to intimidate you.
- They create a ‘trustworthy’ persona to fool you into believing them.
Most of these may seem impossible to figure out, especially without the proper know-how to get around them. However, as long as you have access to the proper tools and information, you could eventually spot and resolve these at a moment’s notice.
How To Secure Your Business
Fortunately, with the technology involved in nearly every aspect of society, it could serve as a tool in assisting you through your business endeavours. Regardless, to keep your business completely secured, you still need to apply these practices:
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Be Thorough
Imagine chatting online with a friend, only for you to find out later on that their account got hacked by someone else. The thought of catching up with a stranger pretending to be someone you know probably sent a shiver down your spine. What more if you gave them critical details about yourself.
That’s why you can easily be lured in by phishing scams. Because not only do they form a relationship with you, but they also fool you into handing them what they want. Using the information you gave, they could steal your and your business’s identities.
Since it’s impossible to eliminate these scams as a whole, all you can do is prevent them from ever accessing your business. To do that, make sure to check potential partners extensively. Look up their business online with the words ‘scam’ or ‘complain’ included. Once you see the results, use your judgment.
Verify the information they have displayed by contacting them through a call or visiting their location. If their conditions include you giving out crucial details such as your bank account, that’s another way to know they’re a scam.
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Trademark Your Business
Before doing your first sale, make sure to trademark your business, especially if your goal is to have an online presence. Of course, on top of managing your expenses and inventory, this might be the least of your worries. However, since you’re using an online platform, you’re more susceptible to other ‘companies’ stealing your brand.
By trademarking, you can secure your name from anyone planning to steal your identity as a fraud. Therefore, reducing their opportunity to strike since any fraudulence aimed at your business will result in legal action. And with the trademark not having any expiration date as long as you renew them, there’s no chance for a third party to ruin your reputation by luring in unsuspecting customers.
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Educate Everyone Involved
As your business gets bigger, more people are needed on board to manage everything. Of course, in hiring new employees, not all may have the qualifications for the job. Still, you could take them in if they seem up for the task.
Utilize their readiness by educating them on what to expect. Orient them about the best practices of cybersecurity and data management. This goes for your old employees as well. Hold seminars, workshops, or meetings on frauds and scams prevention.
By training your employees, you can ensure your business is secure at all times.
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Secure Your Information
Even though you’re always in touch with your current business partner, never be at ease when exchanging messages, especially through email. With the high risk of most messaging apps being easy to hack into, an unknown third party could read every detail you relay to your recipient.
Don’t share any personal and financial information since those are exactly what scammers are looking for. If you can’t avoid doing this, utilize secured messaging apps instead. This way, scammers won’t get any access to your transactions.
The Bottom-line
No one said that being a business owner would be no sweat off your back. After all, this is one of the riskiest occupations that could easily render you financially disabled with one wrong decision. Among these risks are scams that can compromise everything you’ve worked for. Hopefully, the practices presented above can help secure your business against these entities.
