Avionics News November 2014 - 50

series

BUSINESS BASICS
B Y

G R E G

L A S L O

Dirty Tricks
How to recognize - and avoid - seven common business scams

here are good customers, and there are bad customers.
But without a doubt, con artists can make your
business life all the more complicated. According to security magazine RFID Journal, fraud is the single largest
category of larceny in the U.S., costing more each year
than motor vehicle theft, bank robbery and household
burglary combined.
This is a slap in your face. You need a degree of trust
in your customers and vendors, but this is exactly what
scammers use to their advantage. As an old boss might
say, "Predictable is preventable."
To that end, here are seven common scams that regularly target small businesses. Not only will falling for them
cost you money, but they'll also take a toll on your spirit.
If you think you're too savvy to fall prey, every victim
once thought so, too.
1. Fake authority. An official-sounding person - perhaps a "detective" - calls, and asks for a list of customer
credit card numbers from receipts to assist in a fraud
investigation. This is exactly what happened in Annapolis,
Maryland. Fortunately, a quick-thinking manager put the
caller on hold and called the real police.
Police officers say they'll never call or email; they will
visit personally. Even then, you're welcome to check their
identity with a phone call to headquarters. More importantly, they'll never ask for money.
It all points to two variations of this scam. In the first, a
perp wearing a fire uniform entered retail stores in Houston,
claiming to work for the fire department. He informed mer50

avionics news

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2014

chants their fire extinguishers were expired, and for a fee,
he'd refill them; otherwise, he'd write a citation.
Another involves a call from a "corporate manager" or
vendor. He tells shop employees they must pay money
to a disgruntled customer who's waiting in the parking
lot. At least eight Milwaukee-area businesses fell for the
scheme in 2011, netting crooks more than $9,000.
2. Fake directories. Everyone likes to support local
organizations, and scammers know it. Last June, one who
claimed to be a police officer worked a group of dentists in Richmond, Virginia, to sell ads in The Richmond
Police Journal. Turns out, there's no such thing.
In all of its iterations, this scam involves solicitations
for publications, "yellow-page" directories or coupon
books. Sometimes, the scammers don't even bother
with the sales call; they'll just send an invoice and push
aggressively to "collect" the debt. They will yell and
threaten to sue, knowing you deal with reams of invoices
and won't notice the fake one. That extortion intentionally creates a lot of aggravation, so you pay just to be
done with it.
When approached by an unfamiliar charity, research
before you buy. The National Fraud Information Center
suggests asking for written information and consulting
with the Better Business Bureau and other consumerwatchdog organizations. Should you buy, keep detailed
records, and verify that the deal is delivered as promised.
3. No accident. Easily identified company vehicles
can attract the wrong crowd. According to the National

Avionics News November 2014

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