Growing Together Spring 2026

Grow West stays up to date on the latest scams and fraud trends

Since Nigerian prince scams gained notoriety in the late 1990s, online fraud schemes designed to steal money or personal information have only ballooned.

As communication technology has progressed from telephones to texting, cell phones, apps, social media and QR codes, scammers have become more sophisticated, said Grow West IT Manager Cooper Hosley. The advent of artificial intelligence, or AI, has only complicated fraud prevention.

Unlike hacking, which exploits weaknesses in computer systems to gain unauthorized access, fraud typically involves gaining the trust of online users and convincing them to share personal information or send money or gift cards.

Grow West trains all new hires about what to look for in potentially fraudulent emails or other digital correspondence, Hosley said. If in doubt, he recommends they send them his way to review – and he receives a lot of them.

Both Hosley and Grow West Chief Financial Officer Emily Garrison also regularly attend conferences and seminars to stay up to date on the latest scams and fraud trends.

‘SLOW DOWN AND PAUSE’

Even if you’re too small to have a dedicated IT department, Hosley and Garrison recommend several steps to minimize the risk of digital fraud.

“It’s just important for users to slow down and pause to see if there’s anything that looks fishy,” Hosley said of digital communication. “Double check before you click.”

Suspicious signs include misspelled names of regular vendors, new representatives of a company you’ve done business with before, flawed graphics or unfamiliar mailing or email addresses. By moving the cursor to hover over – but not click on – an email address, you can see if you recognize it.

Garrison said scammers have gotten adept at pulling names from internet sources, such as LinkedIn, and using them to impersonate a company CEO, for example.

Scammers also may send a request for payment to a department other than accounting, hoping the other department doesn’t know the disbursement procedures. That’s why Hosley said they train the entire Grow West staff on fraud prevention procedures and update them regularly.

The bogus emails frequently create a sense of urgency, demanding payments immediately or by the end of the day. Even if someone is past due on bills, Garrison said companies typically have payment plans and won’t seek money immediately.

If there’s any doubt, Hosley recommends calling the email sender using a phone number you’ve used before.

“If you do get something that’s questionable from a partner, just use a verified phone number,” he said. “That way you know it’s somebody with that company.”

Preventing fraud also extends to smartphone scanning as an increasing number of companies have added QR codes – a type of barcode that features small white and black squares within a square grid, Hosley said. While legitimate businesses may enlist them to redirect users to their websites, the nefarious may use them to take users to spoofed websites, download malware or divert payments.

Grow West IT Manager Cooper Hosley

Grow West Chief Financial Officer Emily Garrison

ELECTRONIC BANKING

To reduce the risk of check theft or fraudulent checks, many companies have moved to Automated Clearing House (ACH) to send and receive electronic payments and money transfers, Garrison said. As another layer of fraud prevention, businesses may add ACH Positive Pay, which allows them to establish rules for approved vendors. Anything that falls outside of those criteria will trigger an alert.

Making the effort to reduce fraud may take more time and expense, but she said it typically pays off since victims are usually responsible for financial losses.

“For the most part, the business is out whatever loss they incur unless it’s maybe cyber-related,” Garrison said. “It really falls back on the company, which is why you want to make sure you have Positive Pay and Payee Positive Pay and reconcile daily. Invest a little more into security to help protect your business.”