Scammers Targeting Small Business Owners in New England

New England small business owners are some of the hardest-working people you will ever meet.

They have left the security of a job in order to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. In many cases, they risk financial failure in doing so.

That's one of the reasons it is so heartbreaking to see them taken advantage of.

A New Scam Targeting Small Businesses

According to an article on the WGME website, a small business owner in Southern Maine has come forward to warn other small business owners about a new scam that she fell victim to.

Amy Kelly, the owner of TaleSpinStudio in Ogunquit's Perkins Cove, recently fell victim to a scammer pretending to be from her bank.

In the article, she explained she got what she thought was a legitimate call from her bank. The scammer told her that they had seen what appeared to be suspicious activity on her business account. The scammer reportedly told her that her account had been compromised and that she was at risk of losing the funds in the account.

The scammer then suggested that Amy share her computer screen so that they could fix the problem. She did and that is when the scammer transferred all of the funds out of her account.

Amy told a reporter from WGME:

All of sudden I look and I see the money go right out of my account. I could see it right on my screen.

She did report the incident to the police and to the bank, but there was little that they could do.

According to the Federal Trade Comission, this variety of scam is quickly becoming one of the most popular. WGME reports that there were over 1,000 instances of this type of scam in Maine in 2023.

The FDIC website has tips to help people and businesses protect themselves from scammers.