Scams aimed at Businesses

There are a range of scams targeted at businesses, where scammers will use deliberately misleading sales techniques to persuade businesses to part with their money. Common scams include publishing, advertising and directory scams, unnecessary services and unsolicited goods scams, advance-fee fraud, and investment scams.

Scammers use similar techniques across the whole range of scams, and across the range of victims they are targeting. If a business understands the scammers' techniques and is aware of the common types of business scam, it can minimise the risk that it will be caught by a scam.

These scammers are usually difficult to track down; they operate both in and out of the UK (more often the latter), which makes any potential enforcement action very challenging. It is therefore preferable for businesses to be aware of and be able to avoid these scams in the first place.

Business Companion provide detailed advice for businesses on how to spot a scam and then avoid getting caught out by them. They also provide a list of the types of scams that specifically target businesses.

Businesses Against Scams has been set up by the National Trading Standards Scams Team and includes a number of resources that companies can share with their employees, which can educate them on a variety of common business related frauds. All of the information and resources can be found at the Businesses Against Scams website.

Get Safe Online the leading authority in online safety and security have also put some information together  to help businesses avoid and reduce the risks of cyber threats.