The holidays are a busy time for everyone, but they can be especially hectic for business owners. Unfortunately, this can put small business owners and employees at a greater risk of falling for scams. While the holiday season does bring legitimate deals and offers, it also brings new ways for scammers to target businesses. Keep reading to learn how to spot common scams that pop up during the holidays.
Business Email Compromise
A business email compromise, or BEC, is a common email phishing scam. It often involves someone posing as a vendor, or even a person from your company, asking for money, gift card purchases for a holiday party, or personal information. If you get an email that looks out of the ordinary, check the email address it came from and hover over any links to verify they are redirecting to safe websites before clicking anything or responding. The best response is to reach out to your colleague in another way and ask if they sent the email.
Fake Charity Pitches
The holidays are a season of giving, and as a business, you may have received emails from charities asking for donations or sponsorships. However, scammers can pose as charities to gain information and get money from you. If you get any requests from charities or nonprofit organizations asking you to donate, be sure to research them first so you can know they are legitimate. You can also verify whether a charity is legitimate or not on give.org. Again, you can also reach out to them directly, rather than responding to an incoming call or email.
Directory Scams
Another common scam is when you get an email asking you to pay for a listing or ad space in a directory that doesn’t exist. Other times, the directory may be legitimate, but the scammer isn’t affiliated with it. Scammers this time of year may pose it as an opportunity to appear in a special 2025 edition for the new year. Before sharing any information, check to be sure that the directory is legitimate, and that the sender is actually associated with it.
Phony AI Services
With the rise in popularity of artificial intelligence in recent years, there is also the rise of companies offering AI services to businesses. They claim that these services can help you automate and streamline certain business tasks, which can be tempting for business owners during the busy holiday season. However, scammers are taking advantage of this new opportunity by posing as these companies, offering AI services, and then not following through on the delivery of the services. Before signing up for a free trial or entering any payment information, check the Better Business Bureau to verify that the company is legitimate.
A Note About Our Core Conversion
It’s important to be aware of banking scams this time of year, especially since First Independent Bank recently underwent a Core Conversion. If you receive a text message or email saying it’s from First Independent Bank and it asks you to log into your account, remember: do not click any links until you can verify that the request or link is legitimate. The only text messages you should receive from First Independent Bank at this time are multi-factor authentication alerts.
We will also never request your personal or banking account information through our social media platforms like Facebook. If you do receive any messages from what appears to be “First Independent Bank – Minnesota” this holiday season, you should immediately report the conversation and block the profile. You can find a direct link to our page here if you ever need to verify a Facebook Messenger Conversation or reply to a public comment.
You may also receive scam calls during the holiday season, with scammers posing as one of our Customer Service Representatives. If you suspect a scam, simply make an excuse, hang up the call, and directly reach out to your local First Independent Bank branch for verification and further assistance verifying or securing your account(s). You can find all our local First Independent Bank branch phone numbers here.
As a business owner, it’s easy to feel spread thin during the holiday season. However, don’t let distractions make you more susceptible to scams. Be sure to have conversations with your employees and colleagues about these common scams so that everyone on your team can know how to handle them and stay safe. If you or a colleague fall victim to a scam, be sure to report it to your local law enforcement and inform your local bank right away. You may also want to report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission. Doing this can help you recover any losses and prevent the scammer from taking more money from you. Stay alert and don’t let scammers steal your holiday cheer!