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Protect Your Business from Scams - Advice from the Houzz Pro Team

Learn how to spot some common scams, to safeguard your hard-earned money

Houzz Pro

It can be easy to fall for scams no matter who you are. Scamming techniques have gotten much more sophisticated in recent years, and the Federal Trade Commission estimates that Americans lost at least $2.7 billion to these illegal schemes between 2021 and 2023. Whether they manage to extract actual money directly, or they obtain sensitive data that can then be used for identity theft, criminals often target their victims with creative and compelling requests. Here we share what to watch for so you can protect yourself and your business.

5 Common Scam Types

Scammers can use many different types of communication channels to reach you, including email, snail mail, calls, texts, or social media. To protect your business, pay attention to any communications that come through channels not typically used and make sure you regularly remind your employees to do the same. Always verify the identity of the person reaching out to you. You can do this by googling the phone number someone is calling from, asking to call the company/person back on their official phone line, checking the email address domain to see if it matches the ones listed on the official company website.   

Most scams include elements of spoofing and phishing. With spoofing, someone impersonates a government official, a representative of an institution, a company employee or even a loved one. Phishing is a way to solicit personal data that can then be sold or used to access your funds. Below are the common scam categories:  

1. You owe money. Scammers may notify you of made-up debts, payments that are past due, insufficient funds for transactions you’ve made, fines or other fees you owe. Double check this information using other sources like going directly to the company website, your account, other bills or invoices sent, or ask for supporting documentation to better understand the amounts that you owe. The requested sums might be surprisingly small, something you might just pay without thinking twice. Or they can be shockingly large, which might send you into a panic that keeps you from thinking clearly. 

An offshoot of this type of scam is an outright blackmail attempt. A scammer might send you a vaguely worded message saying that they have accessed your computer’s camera and have recorded video of you doing something you’d hate for people to find out about (the cleverness of this is that your mind will automatically fill in the blank). If you don’t send the blackmailer a certain amount of money, he or she will send the video to everyone in your contacts. 

Wise moves: Be skeptical of all requests coming from someone you don’t know, for any amount of money. Verify the legitimacy of all invoices before paying them. If you believe your computer’s camera could have been accessed through malware, scan for malware (there are many programs available for this) or take your device to a professional for examination.

Houzz reminder: Houzz will never contact you about billing without the relevant information being available on Houzz Pro already. You can always login to your account to verify all the Houzz-related inquiries, charges, and notices. Remember to change your password regularly. 

2. You won or inherited something. Congratulations, you’ve won a toaster, a gift card or even a luxury vacation! Or someone you never knew has left you a small fortune. All the helpful person handling everything asks is that you pay to have the award or money shipped — for instance, overnight shipping for a money order — or send a small amount for a handling fee.

Another version of this is that you will receive a legitimate check, which you then deposit in your bank account. However, the scammers will have already put a stop payment on the check and will now have access to your bank information because they can see where the deposit attempt was made.

Wise moves: Be skeptical about contests you never personally entered. Never deposit a check from someone you don’t know or weren’t expecting. As mentioned above, never send money to someone you don’t know.  

Houzz reminder: Official Houzz communications can only come from a @Houzz.com email address. Remember to verify unusual emails or requests with another source. You can always visit Houzz.com for up-to-date information on all the Houzz promotions and other initiatives. 

3. Someone you care about needs something. One of your family members or friends is in a foreign country, has lost their wallet and desperately needs funds transferred to them right away so they can get home. And, of course, they will pay you back. This scam plays on your good nature and desire to help. Some versions of the message are often sent from the person’s real email address, because their email has been hacked. They may be unaware of this, so it can be a good idea to reach out to them for confirmation using their phone number or social media. 

Beware that social media can also be used for this type of scam. The scammers hack someone’s account and send a message to all of the person’s contacts on the platform. They might ask for a financial contribution to a “good cause” or might send a link to something the person has supposedly created — say, a funny video. If it’s just a link rather than a donation request, it might contain malware or be an attempt to extract personal identifying information.

Wise moves: If a loved one is asking for money, speak with the person directly. Moreover, ask verification questions, such as, “what restaurant did we always eat at in high school?” or “what’s my favorite method of exercise?” Ask something that someone can’t guess or easily find online. The reason for asking? Special digital effects have gotten so sophisticated that scammers could actually swap in the person’s voice or image for their own on a phone or video call. 

Houzz reminder: Scammers may try to use whatever information is publicly available on your Houzz Pro profile. Remember to always verify the source of a request at least with a simple Google search. If something does not look or feel trustworthy, do not trust it. Be diligent about not clicking on suspicious links, especially in the first-time messages coming through the “Send a Message” feature. 

4. You need to provide or verify information.  This can be as innocuous as a fake request for survey feedback supposedly from a store you actually use, or as elaborate as something like a claim that you’re about to lose your social security benefits. Ironically, a scammer might even say your bank account has been hacked. The goal always is to get information. When you provide your name, address, birthdate, and social security number, the scammer can either sell that info on the dark web or use it to open credit cards. If you provide all this and your bank account info too, they can drain your funds.  

Wise moves: Never give out any identifying information to someone you don’t know and trust. If it’s a survey and you want to provide feedback, go to the company’s website separately and navigate to the survey from there or contact customer service using the number on their legitimate website. When anyone asks for your social security number, ask if you can provide the last four digits only, and don’t write the full number on checks if you can avoid it.

Houzz reminder: Houzz representatives will never ask for your EIN, Houzz Pro account number, billing information, etc. You can always reach out to Houzz Support via multiple channels. 

5. Incredible business opportunities and partnerships are waiting. There’s a surefire way to earn a huge return on cryptocurrency, a scammer might say. Or in exchange for a small investment in a new business, you can get free service from that business for a year. And of course, there’s always a foreign prince who can’t access funds and wants to partner with you to retrieve them, for which you’ll be handsomely rewarded.

Wise moves: Be skeptical of potential business opportunities and partnerships unless you initiate them yourself. Always thoroughly research any investment opportunities and check the Better Business Bureau and even the Secretary of State to make sure the company is legit.

Houzz reminder:   You can rely on the Houzz community to share their experience. Whenever in doubt, check out the Pro-to-Pro forum, search and review previous discussions, or ask fellow Houzz Pro users for their feedback. Chances are, someone has dealt with a similar situation. For example, here is an insightful exchange on filtering out client scams

How to Spot a Scammer 

  • Is the call, email, letter, text message or direct message unsolicited or from someone you don’t know?
  • Is the return email address obviously made up? For instance, the sender’s name might be a store you trust, but the return email address is JoexJ7@favoritestore.com. If it’s a text message, is the number from overseas or does it otherwise look odd? (Be aware that just because it’s domestic doesn’t mean it’s legit.)
  • Does the message contain obviously bad grammar, misspellings, or incorrect syntax or punctuation? (“Verify bank account before lose money!!”) Or does the message not resemble other communications you’ve gotten from the sender in the past? 
  • Is there a sense of urgency? (“Act now or you’ll lose all the money in your bank account today!”) 
  • Does it prompt a strong emotional response, such as panic or fear? (“Your friend is in dire trouble!” “Everyone will know what you did!”)
  • Is there an easy way to pay? (“Just click this link to transfer the money via Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or another instant payment platform.) You also might be asked to pay with cryptocurrency, a gift card, cash sent by courier or another method.
  • Do you have to click an unverified link, fill out a form or provide log-in info? 
  • Are you being asked to share a verification code with someone you don’t know? Verification codes are part of a security measure called two-factor identification and are meant for your eyes only; sharing them can grant a spammer access to whatever site is asking for it.
  • Is the requester being persistent? Scammers are skilled manipulators and might not take no for an answer, or they might try to play on your emotions or change tactics in the middle of the conversation.

Often these tactics are used in combination, but even just one should immediately throw up a red flag. 

7 Tips to Avoid Scams 

1. Do not engage. Hang up the phone. Don’t reply to texts, emails, or snail mail letters.  Hit the “spam” button when possible. 

2. Don’t panic. Pause and talk it out with a friend or go online to research whether it’s a known scam.

3. Verify, verify, verify. Contact a known representative of the company. Follow up with the friend or a family member making the request. Visit a branch, a store, an official website. Ask multiple clarifying questions.

4. Use strong passwords, change them frequently and don’t use the same password across multiple sites. Change passwords if you hear about a data breach at a company you engage with. 

5. Use spam filters for email and texts, and consider using a fraud-alert service as an added safety measure. Some filters and services are even free.

6. If you suspect you have been the victim of a scam or feel threatened during contact with a scammer, contact local law enforcement and report fraud to the Federal Trade Commission. 

7. Read “10 Tips to Improve Cybersecurity” on Houzz.com and implement the suggestions. You can always reach out to us using the contact information on Houzz.com or Houzz.com/pro

More info:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Federal Trade Commission

Houzz Pro is the all-in-one tool for marketing, project and client management built specifically for remodeling, build, and design professionals.

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