“If it sounds too good to be true…”

By Taylor Kenck

This is a post intended for business owners especially, but it applies to anyone engaging in business online these days (so just about everyone).

This past week, I had a recent reminder about the prolific nature of scams in today’s world. It brings to mind the old adage “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” It also shows the importance of due diligence – or the steps that businesses take to ensure that different deals or parties are actually represented properly.

Scams are as old as time itself. But, the internet is an especially effective tool for the modern-day scammer. It’s easy to adopt a pseudonym or persona to hide behind. And it’s even possible to create a paper trial of sorts. Because of new and advancing technologies like artificial intelligence (“AI”), these problems will only grow worse. For that reason, it is crucial for people to stay extra vigilant.

My Recent Experience:

As for what happened to me: this past week, I received an unsolicited and random email from a prospective out-of-state client. This client wanted help with a large equipment transaction. Red flags immediately went up in my mind for a couple of reasons – (1) this matter doesn’t really fall well within my practice areas; while I do practice some aspects of business law, large, multi-million dollar commercial transactions aren’t in my current wheelhouse, and (2) the manner in which this prospective client contacted me did not match the manner that a successful business owner would use. This was going to be a massive transaction, yet the company’s owner couldn’t pick up the phone to discuss the matter with me? Needless to say, lots of things were not adding up from the get-go.

Subsequent research only confirmed my suspicions, but it also highlighted the lengths to which scammers are willing to go these days.

Very quickly, I was able to research this “prospective client’s” business. The business, which supposedly existed in Minnesota, was not registered with Minnesota’s secretary of state. Additionally, the address the business had listed took me to an empty field.

However, the business had a website. In fact, it was a really good website. This scammer had taken the time to build a professional looking website – one that could put actual businesses to shame. Steps had even been taken to try and make the business seem a few years old. But important details from the website did not add up: a quick Google search showed that the domain for the website had been registered just days prior to contacting me. And the person registering the domain apparently lived in Iceland, not Minnesota.

The Takeaway:

Scammers are prolific and have been around forever. However, because of new advances in technology, they are becoming much more sophisticated. Due diligence and trusting my gut were keys to keeping me out of trouble in this instance.

New business owners (like myself) are often specifically targeted. Scammers assume we are desperate for business, and therefore may be more forgiving of abnormal behavior. Had I been desperate enough, the promise of a transaction much larger than my normal fees might have compelled me to ignore some problems.

But my gut feeling led me to do some quick vetting. Because of my legal background, I have lots of experience researching businesses and organizations. That research, in turn, confirmed my initial suspicions.

These sort of scams occasionally work. Otherwise, someone would not be spending significant time and resources building websites and creating a fake paper trail. However, by trusting your initial gut reaction, and asking yourself “is this too good to be true?” I think many folks can avoid the sort of scams that threaten their wellbeing and the wellbeing of their business.

Obviously, true scams are not lurking around the corner of every business deal. But a healthy sense of caution never does hurt. Due diligence is always needed, even with legitimate business opportunities.

If anyone has questions about any business opportunities that they are considering, please feel free to reach out. Crestview Law might not be the right place for a multi-million dollar medical equipment transaction (at least right now), but we are certainly equipped to handle many of the questions and headaches that small businesses experience.

Crestview Law has physical offices in Wenatchee, but we can serve clients throughout the state with our many virtual tools.