Earlier this year, Daniel Flink, a first-time small business owner, lost $10,000 to a scam while attempting to buy a CPA business online.
“It was going pretty well, but it could have been better,” Flink recalled as he described the process of purchasing a remote CPA business for $270,000. All transactions were supposed to be conducted through secure wire transfers.
As Flink prepared to send a $10,000 deposit, he received what appeared to be an email from the business broker handling the transaction, containing wiring instructions. However, he didn’t realize that two letters in the email address had been transposed, making the message fraudulent.
The scammer’s instructions directed the funds to an account they controlled, and three days passed before the legitimate seller alerted Flink that the money hadn’t been received. “I had a pit in my stomach—‘What have I done?’” Flink said, realizing he had been scammed.
Flink believes the fraudster somehow intercepted communication between him and the broker. “Basically, I’m out 10 grand,” he lamented.
While Flink acknowledges that the mistake was his, he feels there should be better protections in place. Learning from the experience, he double-checked all details before wiring the money again, this time calling the broker directly to verify the account information.
Despite the setback, Flink successfully acquired the business and now runs it from his home. He admits that the error almost cost him everything. His advice to others? “Verify, verify, verify, and then verify again.”
Unfortunately, Flink doesn’t expect to recover the $10,000 and suspects the fraudster may be operating from outside the country.