Quickbooks scams: Scammers are targetting Quickbooks users

Small businesses are at an increased risk for fraud, research has found. According to a study conducted by Javelin Strategy and Research, small-business owners experience fraud at a rate that is double the rate of non-business owners. Some of these scams dupe small-business owners because they are wrapped up in offers of money-saving deals that can help stretch a budget a little further. In the course of finding the best deals, however, you want to avoid any cleverly disguised scams.

Here are four common small-business scams to watch out for:

• Fake Invoices — As we’ve noted before, con artists know that small-business owners tend to deal with lots of vendors. They may try to take advantage of this by slipping you an invoice or a renewal notice for a product or a service that you’ve never received. To avoid these phony bills, set up a system for comparing all incoming invoices to your records (of work completed or goods received) before you make any payments. Keep track of what you’ve paid, too. If you receive a suspicious invoice, report it to your state’sattorney general.
  
• Fake Directory Listings — Businesses used to pay to be listed in the phone book and other printed directories, a practice that now extends to web-based directories. Scammers often target small businesses by submitting invoices or making phone solicitations for bogus directory listings that seem real. Before agreeing to any listing or paying for it, research the directory online. The National Consumers League offers a few tips to help spot fraudulent directory invoices, too.
  
• Office Supplies — Office-supply scams have been around for years, with the subjects of the scam ranging from toner cartridges to reams of paper. There are variations on the scam, but generally it involves a phone call from someone claiming to be your regular supplier or an "authorized reseller" asking for information about the company's equipment, names of purchasing personnel, or types of office supplies normally ordered. Once this information has been obtained, the company then proceeds to ship overpriced supplies of poor quality to the company and invoices you accordingly. If you have doubts about a caller, hang up and call the vendor from which you originally ordered products. Suspicious calls can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission under the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
  
• Fake Sources of Funding — As lenders have tightened restrictions on small-business lending, scammers have found ways to take advantage of cash-strapped businesses. This trick involves convincing small-business owners to pay fees up front for grants that never come through. The Small Business Administration is a reliable resource for finding legit funding opportunities.
  
• Identity Theft — Identity theft can create years of headaches for small-business owners, just as it does for individuals. In fact, one study found that small-business owners succumb to identity theft at 1.5 times the rate of other adults. Small-business identity theft typically occurs when someone acts on behalf of your business to secure lines of credit. The SBA provides some great tips to help small-business owners protect themselves and monitor for identity theft.

By keeping an eye on your credit score and putting practices in place to track invoices and payments, you can protect your small business against potentially costly scams.

On the Internet, "phishing" refers to criminal activity that attempts to fraudulently obtain sensitive information.
Here's what you can do to protect yourself from a phishing attack:
1. If you suspect you have received a phishing email from Intuit, please forward it immediately to spoof@intuit.com. We will look into each reported instance.
2. Make sure you subscribe to an anti-virus software and keep it up-to-date.
3. Make sure you have updated your web browser to one that includes anti-phishing security features, such as Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox version 3 or higher.
4. Make sure that you keep up to date on the latest releases and patches for your operating systems and critical programs. These releases are frequently security related.
5. Do not respond to emails asking for account, password, banking, or credit card information.
6. Do not open up an attachment that claims to be a software update. We will not send any software updates via email.
7. Do not respond to text messages or voicemails that ask you to call a number and enter your account number and pin.
8. Make sure you have passwords on your computer and your payroll files.
Here are 3 common methods that phishers use in their emails
1. Spoofed email address. Don't reply to unsolicited email and don't open email attachments. It's easy to fake a From or Reply To address, either manually or with spam software, so never assume an email is real by looking at its header. You might be able to spot fake addresses by checking for domain name misspellings, but this isn't foolproof. Some email service providers combat the problem of spoofed addresses by using authentication techniques to verify a sender's integrity.
2. Fake link. When in doubt, never click on a link in an unsolicited or suspicious email. Scam emails can contain a hidden link to a site that asks you to enter your log on and account information. A clue: if the email threatens you with account closure if you don't log on soon, you could be the target of phishing. You may be able to tell if a link is real by moving your mouse over it and looking at the bottom of your browser to see the hidden Web address - it will look different than the one you see on the surface.
3. Forged Website. If you must visit a financial site, like your bank or credit card company, enter its known address into the browser location field manually. Use a browser with an anti-phishing plug-in or extension, like FireFox version 3 or higher or Internet Explorer 7. These browsers warn you about forged, high-risk sites. Phony Web sites mimic real sites by copying company logos, images, and site designs. Malicious webmasters can also use HTML, Flash or Java Script to mask or change a browser address.

Source: INTUIT