WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Federal data shows a surge in fraud, and it’s affecting businesses that lose billions of dollars every year due to scams. When popular places lose money, that often means it’ll cost customers more.
With scammers, the thinking is that they often target individuals, but businesses are also frequently targeted, as payouts from scams can get into the millions of dollars. From 2022 to 2024, the FBI looked into nearly $75,000 in scams hitting businesses. These scams can include just about anything, from impersonating a vendor to taking over their social media accounts and data breaches.
When it comes to how hard a scam can hit a large business, a single data breach leads to an average loss of $4.9 million per company. The hit doesn’t stop with the financial loss.
“It will impact consumers because if their sensitive information is now open and can be found, that can lead to potential identity theft, maybe accounts opening up in your name,” said Denise Groene with the Better Business Bureau. “So, it really is a trickle effect and it is important for both businesses and consumers to be aware that scammers do target businesses as well, which they’re a victim of.”
Businesses can prevent scams by training employees on how to recognize them. The BBB suggests a best practice for all is to check on your accounts and keep passwords updated regularly.
Experts predict that AI will become a growing concern as fake videos, voices and emails get more sophisticated with the technology.
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