Business scams are draining companies of millions, with over 3,600 reported cases across North America since 2022, according to a new report from the Better Business Bureau.

The BBB says thieves are impersonating employees and vendors, hijacking social media accounts and orchestrating elaborate fraud schemes, all of which can lead to significant financial losses.

“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 and CEO of BBB Serving Alberta and East Kootenay.

She noted that national agencies are also seeing steep losses — in the billions — from these scams.

The BBB’s Scam Tracker logged 3,647 business scam reports between 2023 and 2024, while the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre received 9,286.

The report highlighted several common red flags for businesses, including surprise invoices from unusual email addresses, unexpected communications from “vendors,” and pressure to pay using gift cards or prepaid debit cards. Scammers also impersonate government agencies, urge urgent license renewals or trademark registrations, and send notices about expiring domain names.

The average cost of a data breach has risen to $4.9 million per company, excluding extreme cases. One growing tactic is business email compromise — where fraudsters impersonate employees to extract payments or sensitive information.

The BBB recommends companies take the following steps to protect themselves and their staff:

• Train employees to recognize and report scams

• Establish secure payment protocols with verification steps

• Vet new business offers thoroughly before engaging

• Use cybersecurity tools such as firewalls and multifactor authentication

More information about scam types and how to report them is available on the BBB Scam Tracker and through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.