Recently, there has been a streak of crimes online that target you if you are a small business owner. Further, these particular misdeeds affect your sales and your company’s public image. This article will cover how these cyber scammers are committing these infractions — and what you can do about it.
Criminal Copycats are Pretending to be YOU!
While technology has made our lives easier in many ways, it has also made criminal activity easier. And, that is the exact case with the topic we are discussing today.
LONG STORY SHORT, CROOKS ARE STEALING FROM SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS’ DIGITAL CONTENT TO DUPE THEIR CUSTOMERS.
These scammers do everything from:
- Duplicating your websites.
- Faking online ads/product listings.
- Stealing company photos and video content.
The purpose of all of these deceptions is simple…
Sell YOUR customers a cheap knock-off — or worse — take their money and send NOTHING.
At this point, you may be wondering, “Why small businesses as opposed to big names?”
Well, it turns out that attacking the little guys is safer and easier for wrongdoers to attack…
Why A Small Business Owner is A Big Target for Scammers
Even though major enterprises are widely recognized, scammers are opting to look like modest retailers.
Yet, believe it or not, digital doppelgangers are not going after small businesses because they are making mistakes. It is because massive companies are more vigilant and have more resources to take them down.
Patent attorney, Thomas Moga, shared this insight with The Wall Street Journal:
“LARGE CORPORATIONS HAVE THE IN-HOUSE ABILITY OR CAN CONNECT WITH OUTSIDE COUNSEL TO MONITOR AND TAKE DOWN CONTENT. THEY ARE MULTILINGUAL. INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL BUSINESSES DON’T HAVE THAT AT THE READY. THEY ARE REALLY AT A SIGNIFICANT DISADVANTAGE.”
Although as a small business owner, you are not as well-equipped, all is not lost. But, what exactly can be done?
Ways to Prevent Cyberfakes and How to Fight Back
The best weapon small business owners have against this form of “brand identity theft” is vigilance.
With that in mind, a good place to start is to regularly Google your company. Doing so will alert you to fake sites, ads, or reviews from customers you’ve never worked with.
Then, you can take action immediately upon noticing those red flags.
From there, there are different courses of action depending on your situation…
Advertisements and false product listings should be reported to Google, Amazon, or the social media platform they are on. Those entities can take them down for you.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to reach out to customers who have been duped by scammers. Your willingness to remedy the situation can turn an upset individual into a loyal customer.
Finally, there is one more thing you can do to get the copycats off your back…
Go from a small business owner to a massive success so they’ll be too intimidated to mess with you…
Until then, stay alert and be great.
— GCTV Staff
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