(ID 24045069 © Karenr | Dreamstime.com)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Since 2022

Better Business Bureau study unveils effectiveness of business scams

Jun 26, 2025 | 11:19 AM

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reports over the last three years that business scam reports have reached over 3,600.

The non-profit organization says it monitored these scam reports from the BBB scam tracker since 2022, which involved employee and vendor impersonations, theft of social media accounts, data breaches, and others.

“Reports to the Better Business Bureau show that business scammers can steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in seconds without proper protections,” said Mary O’Sullivan-Andersen, President/CEO of BBB Serving Alberta and East Kootenay. ”Further reports to national organizations across North America show total losses of billions each year.”

What they’ve discovered is these scams come in many different forms across North America and that many businesses have experienced major losses.

The BBB says the average data breach costs a company $4.9 million. However, billions more are stolen through schemes where scammers steal employee’s identities and use them to convince others to share cash and sensitive information.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

From 2023-24, the BBB says there were 3,647 scam reports from the BBB scam tracker and 9,286 reported by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Signs of a business scam:

• Outreach from unknown businesses, government agencies and big-ticket buyers
• Invoices from unexpected emails
• Odd behaviour from “known” vendors or businesses
• Requests for gift card or pre-paid debit card payments
• Urgent demands to renew or obtain licenses or trademarks
• Claims about expiring domain names
• Consultants making big promises about helping your business

The BBB says to help prevent these scams from happening it’s important to train employees to recognize them.

The organization says it’s also important to research companies asking to do business and to implement cybersecurity measures such as firewalls and multifactor authentication.

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.