Before anything else, we strongly encourage you to take a few minutes to watch—and share with your team—the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) short video series on small business scams.

These videos are practical, easy to understand, and designed specifically for business owners and employees. They show how real scams happen and what to look for before your business becomes the next target.

You can access the FTC’s small business resources and videos here:
https://www.ftc.gov/smallbusiness

We recommend forwarding at least one of these videos to your staff today. That single step can make a meaningful difference.

Why This Matters Now

Fraud is no longer an occasional nuisance—it is a growing operational risk for businesses of every size.

Many of the most common scams today directly impact business operations, including:

• Business and employment-related fraud
• Online transaction scams
• Vendor and impersonation schemes
• Fake emails looking to  obtain sensitive information

Increasingly, these scams originate online—through email, websites, and social media—where routine business activity occurs every day.

Why Small Businesses Are Targeted

From a practical standpoint, small businesses are particularly vulnerable because they often:

• Operate with lean teams and fewer internal controls
• Process payments quickly as part of normal operations
• Rely on trust when dealing with vendors, clients, and service providers

We routinely see schemes involving:

• Fake invoices or payment demands
• Emails impersonating vendors or financial institutions
• Requests to change wire or ACH instructions
• “Urgent” communications designed to bypass normal verification

These are not theoretical risks—they are happening with increasing frequency.

A Resource You Should Be Using (But Many Aren’t)

The FTC has developed a comprehensive resource center specifically for small businesses, including:

• Scam identification tools
• Cybersecurity guidance
• Data protection recommendations
• Incident response materials

You can find all of it here:
https://www.ftc.gov/smallbusiness

Unlike many compliance resources, these materials are practical and directly applicable to day-to-day business operations.

Practical Steps You Can Take Now

If you take nothing else from this message, consider implementing these five steps:

1. Train your team – Use the FTC videos to help employees recognize scams
2. Verify payment requests – Independently confirm any change in payment instructions
3. Strengthen basic cybersecurity – Password policies, system updates, and access controls
4. Monitor activity closely – Watch for unusual or unexpected transactions
5. Report suspicious activity – https://reportfraud.ftc.gov

Closing Thought

From our perspective, this is not simply a technology issue—it is a risk management issue.

Fraud can disrupt operations, expose sensitive information, and create legal and financial consequences for your business. The trends we are seeing indicate that these risks are only increasing.

Fortunately, addressing them does not require complex systems or significant expense.

Start with a simple step: Watch one FTC video. Share it with your team. Have a conversation about it.

That small investment of time can prevent a very costly mistake.

If you would like assistance reviewing your internal procedures or implementing fraud prevention safeguards within your business, our office would be happy to discuss practical next steps.

Disclaimers: Artificial intelligence is used as a tool to supplement, enhance, make suggestions, and generate blog language from the thoughts, ideas, and opinions of our human lawyers. The final product is reviewed and edited by an attorney.

The information presented here has been prepared by Lardiere McNair for promotional and informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. This information is not intended to provide, and receipt of it does not constitute legal advice. Nor does the receipt of this material create an attorney/client relationship. An attorney client relationship is not established until such time as Lardiere McNair enters into a written engagement agreement with a specific client for a specific legal matter.