The Fake Payment That Almost Shut Down My Small Business

I had been running my small handmade jewelry business online for a few years, and things were going well. Most of my customers were loyal and excited about my work, but one day I received an unusually large order from a new customer. They seemed thrilled with my products and wanted to buy a variety of high-end pieces as gifts for their family. The total was several thousand dollars, much more than my average order, but it felt like a great opportunity.

The customer asked if they could pay through a wire transfer, claiming it would be easier for them. I hesitated, but after some convincing and a detailed email exchange, I agreed to send them my account information. A day later, I received what looked like a confirmation of the payment, complete with a reference number and the right amount showing in my bank's pending transactions. Excited, I quickly shipped out the order, trusting that the funds would clear.

But a few days later, things started to go wrong. The payment never actually processed. The email I received wasn’t from my bank at all — it was a clever fake designed to make it look like the funds were on their way. By the time I realized what had happened, the jewelry had already been delivered to the scammer’s address, and there was nothing I could do to get it back.

The shock hit me hard. I had lost thousands of dollars’ worth of goods, and it was a blow that my small business struggled to recover from. The worst part? The scammer disappeared, leaving me with no way to track them down. When I contacted the bank, they confirmed that there had never been any payment in the first place — I had been tricked by a fake payment notification.