Choice Business Loans Blog

Is Your Business in the Scam Danger Zone?

Jan 28, 2020

Did you know that a typical business loses 5% of income every year to fraud and scams? The issue is showing no signs of slowing, and in light of this we are raising awareness of fraud for small businesses with our new quiz around small business fraud.

Business Loan Scams

Dec 6, 2019

It’s easy these days to get caught up in scams. Whilst it’s rarer than ever to receive emails from Nigerian princes who need freeing promising you gold and riches, sophisticated, targeted fraud that is difficult to detect is on the rise. Advance fee fraud is a common attack, and whilst it’s one of the best known and well documented techniques, it’s also very easy to fall for if you’re not cautious enough.

Cyber Security for Small Businesses

Dec 6, 2019

If you run a small or independent business, you might think you’re not worth scamming and that you’ll be passed over by fraudsters in search of bigger fish. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reported that 48% of businesses think that they’re too small to be scammed, but the frequency of small business fraud is 28%, compared to the 22-26% of larger organizations.

How to Avoid Overpayment Scams

Dec 6, 2019

Scammers and their methods get more advanced every year. There are some scams, however, that will never die and should be easy to spot, like the infamous Nigerian Prince scam. Overpayment scams are relatively easy to spot and to avoid, but they have advanced over time. This scam targets businesses rather than the individual - and whether you’re a small independent online retailer or huge corporation, you could be at risk.

How to Spot Invoice Fraud

Dec 6, 2019

Invoice fraud is easy to commit and easy to fall for - but it is easier than you might think to notice and prevent against. Invoice Fraud is the process by which a scammer tricks a company into changing payee details for a product or service that the company regularly pay for. These scammers are experts at finding out about business to business relationships that the victim holds with service providers or buyers and sellers. They may even be aware of regular payment dates or deliveries.

Phishing Scams

Dec 6, 2019

Phishing is very common and tends to catch a lot of people out. Phishing is the term for when a scammer reaches to a victim via cold email (sometimes these emails are more targeted and will be sent to only a few businesses, and sometimes they’ll be sent en masse) with a message including a link that will direct the user to a site requiring them to enter personal details like bank account or credit card numbers, or sometimes a link that will allow the scammer remote access of the victim’s computer.