Scram, Scam Some con artists make a habit of ripping off businesses. Here's how to make a habit of thwarting them.

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), every yearbusinesses lose millions of dollars to con artists through a hostof different scams. It's easy for multitasked BIZ Experiencess toget swindled into paying phony invoices, footing the bill onunordered merchandise or agreeing to deals that are almost alwaystoo good to be true. "What happens many times is that businessowners are so busy and usually have so many expenses to pay everymonth that they do not inspect carefully what they are payingfor," notes Steve Bernas, director of operations at the BBB inChicago.

The best way to protect yourself is to know what to watch outfor. The most common scams that target business owners, accordingto the BBB, arethe following:

• Advance-fee loan brokers. These people assure youthey'll find you a loan-but mandate that you first submit an"advance fee" for the broker to prepare a business planand do the legwork. More often than not, the loan broker takes yourmoney and makes no effort to find the needed capital.
• Phony invoices. This is a biggie, and it can take manyforms. With this scam, you receive a bill for merchandise orservices that you either never ordered or never received. And ifyou don't know better, you might end up paying the bill-orpaying to return the item-thinking you forgot about the order orare somehow obligated to pay.
• Office supply pirates. With this scam, a common approachis to claim "liquidation of stock" or "going out ofbusiness" prices on office supplies. The merchandise, ifdelivered at all, is typically shoddy and overpriced, or you mightwind up with twice the amount ordered.
• The vanity pitch. With this one, you get a letterclaiming you've been chosen to appear in a special publication(such as a Who's Who-type book) or receive a special reward. Ifyou buy the pitch, you could wind up with a subscription fee, acharge for the listing or a hefty bill for the publication-whichprobably won't receive the kind of widespread distribution youthought it would.

If you're the victim of one of these scams, all is not lost,notes Bernas. You simply need to know your rights. If a vendorsends you unordered merchandise, by law you can treat thatmerchandise as a gift. You do not have to pay for it, nor do youhave to send it back.

Secondly, be hyper-aware of all orders you place. Keep carefulrecords so you can go back to them later before paying any bills.If you have employees, train them in how to handle theauthorization and documentation of purchasing supplies or goods.Most important, train yourself and your employees to identifycommon scams.

Finally, always ask for substantiation before closing a deal."Ask for previous consumers who have benefited from thisopportunity," says Bernas. The BBB and other consumerprotection agencies like the Federal Trade Commission can also help you locatecomplaint histories as well as verify the reliability of acompany.

And if you do get scammed, file a complaint. "Don't sitback and let it go-come forward," advises Bernas,"because you can prevent this from happening to someoneelse." To file a complaint, visit the FTC or the BBB online, or contactyour state's attorney general's office.