Engine Room Blog

Now we live in an online world business owners need to be vigilant.  It’s not just the nice Nigerians whose long lost relative want to share their millions with you. 

There are also the scammers who want to do business with you. Approaches can often seem quite legitimate - though if it seems too good to be true it probably is.  They are often friendly and plausible, but is you are selling online you need to be alert to unusual approaches or orders that are of size larger than you expect.

While payment in advance seems a safe option it is not always enough…

Smart business owners always check the validity of a credit card before processing it and shipping goods.  It is likely to be stolen and you bank can check very quickly for you.  More likely to catch you out is the customer who sends a cheque.  A cheque drawn on an overseas bank takes up to a month to clear. 

If you get caught out don't expect your insurance company to help either - this is fraud not theft.  You have supplied the goods or services in exchange for payment - the payment is fraudulent. 

Remember to report approaches to the Commerce Commission so they can post it on their website and warn others.