In this episode of my Irene Consulting Firm podcast, I’m shining a light on something too many entrepreneurs ignore until it’s too late: scams and cyber fraud. We spend so much time focused on revenue, profit, and growth, but criminals are targeting small businesses through phishing emails, fake invoices, CEO fraud (business email compromise), vendor impersonation, and even phone scams. I brought in George, an IT consultant who specializes in fraud prevention and cybersecurity, to break down how these scams actually work in the real world. We talk through the biggest red flags to watch for—like urgent “act now” messages, threats, spelling errors, and links that don’t go where they claim. George explains how phishing pages steal credentials and how BEC scams pressure employees in finance or HR to send wire transfers because they think they’re responding to an executive. My biggest takeaway: verification has to be part of your process. Confirm wire transfers by phone, verify callers by hanging up and calling the official number, and train your team so they know what to look for. Add strong basics like two-factor authentication and regular password updates, and you’ll be far harder to scam.