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Fraud is evolving, but so are the ways to fight it. From spotting phishing emails to implementing secure payment solutions, business owners can take proactive steps to safeguard their hard-earned money. Small business owners have enough on their plate without having to worry about fraudsters looking to make an easy buck. Thankfully, there are a few key steps franchisees can take to rest assured their money is in good hands. Watch the news on any given day and you will likely be subject to stories about the latest con targeting consumers, businesses, or both. And in the 21st century, the odds of it being a financial scam conducted online is disproportionately high. “The types of frauds are constantly changing or evolving,” says John Zajic, Vice President, Corporate Policy & Compliance at Telpay, the largest independent electronic payment company in Canada. “Various forms of phishing attacks, social engineering, malware, and business email compromise are the most common threats to business and individuals.” From 2014 to 2019, the Canadian government reports that over $16 billion was lost to fraudsters, with a quarter of incidents amounting to $1,000 or more. Vulnerable populations are also more likely to be victims: immigrants, people with disabilities, and those who had “difficult experiences” such as intimate partner violence or childhood violence were at a higher risk of such events, according to Statistics Canada. On the contrary, those with higher education and higher income were also more likely than average to be targeted by these scams. Despite these numbers, fraud is still a crime that is grossly underreported to the police. In fact, only about one in 10 Canadians who have been scammed take the step to officially report it. (There is a larger percentage that reports the incident to their bank/credit card issuer or the Canada Anti-Fraud Centre, however.) The reason for this could be the deep-seated shame that comes with being a victim, even if it didn’t occur through any intentional action on their part. Bad actors are becoming exceptionally adept at both targeting their victims and executing their plans, and the data shows that their victims span a wide range of ages and life experiences. Gone are the days of obviously counterfeit emails urging you to provide payment so a foreign prince can access his funds being held in trust—though deceptions of that nature obviously exist, there are other more effective ways that bad actors are finding their way into your bank account. Read the full article, which was published in the September/October 2024 issue of Franchise Canada, here: https://buff.ly/4g5oDG3

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