Understanding Small Business Scams
This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about small business scams. A scam is a form of dishonest action, based upon an invitation to participate in an activity. Victims are encouraged, mislead or induced to voluntarily interact with the perpetrator, and ultimately to willi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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World Scientific Publishing
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32491 |
| _version_ | 1848753678444396544 |
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| author | Schaper, Michael Weber, Paull |
| author_facet | Schaper, Michael Weber, Paull |
| author_sort | Schaper, Michael |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about small business scams. A scam is a form of dishonest action, based upon an invitation to participate in an activity. Victims are encouraged, mislead or induced to voluntarily interact with the perpetrator, and ultimately to willingly surrender over money, information or other valuable resources. Common forms of scams directed towards small business include phishing, false business valuations and sales, fake overpayments, false directory and advertisement listings, bust-outs, blowing, cramming, advance fee fraud and misleading self-employment projects. The limited research evidence available to date suggests that small enterprises are particularly vulnerable to these types of criminal activity, are less inclined to report such events, are likely to be subject to repeat attacks, and are particularly susceptible to online scams. This occurs because small businesses often lack the in-house skills, resources and reporting arrangements needed to effectively detect and prevent scams. The paper also briefly examines the entrepreneurial nature of scammers, and explores some of the emergent literature on the psychology of small business scams that may explain scam propensity. Strategies for combating and avoiding scams are discussed, as are suggestions for future research directions in the area. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:28:20Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-32491 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:28:20Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | World Scientific Publishing |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-324912017-09-13T15:23:54Z Understanding Small Business Scams Schaper, Michael Weber, Paull hoax Fraud crime law enforcement scam swindle This paper provides an overview of the current state of knowledge about small business scams. A scam is a form of dishonest action, based upon an invitation to participate in an activity. Victims are encouraged, mislead or induced to voluntarily interact with the perpetrator, and ultimately to willingly surrender over money, information or other valuable resources. Common forms of scams directed towards small business include phishing, false business valuations and sales, fake overpayments, false directory and advertisement listings, bust-outs, blowing, cramming, advance fee fraud and misleading self-employment projects. The limited research evidence available to date suggests that small enterprises are particularly vulnerable to these types of criminal activity, are less inclined to report such events, are likely to be subject to repeat attacks, and are particularly susceptible to online scams. This occurs because small businesses often lack the in-house skills, resources and reporting arrangements needed to effectively detect and prevent scams. The paper also briefly examines the entrepreneurial nature of scammers, and explores some of the emergent literature on the psychology of small business scams that may explain scam propensity. Strategies for combating and avoiding scams are discussed, as are suggestions for future research directions in the area. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32491 10.1142/S0218495812500148 World Scientific Publishing restricted |
| spellingShingle | hoax Fraud crime law enforcement scam swindle Schaper, Michael Weber, Paull Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title | Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title_full | Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title_fullStr | Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title_short | Understanding Small Business Scams |
| title_sort | understanding small business scams |
| topic | hoax Fraud crime law enforcement scam swindle |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32491 |