A survey of more than 500 small business owners released last week put a hard number on something most owners feel but can’t quantify: $131 billion in losses from fraud, scams, and ransomware in a single year.
That’s not a big-company problem. The average loss from payment fraud ran nearly $60,000. Business email compromise averaged over $90,000. And nearly three in four small businesses were hit at least once in the past twelve months.
Think about that for a second. This isn’t a rare event anymore. For many businesses, it’s becoming a routine operating cost, one nobody budgeted for.
The damage doesn’t stop at the dollar amount. Among businesses that were targeted, 43% said it made it harder to accept payments. Forty percent said it hurt customer acquisition. Thirty-nine percent said it slowed their ability to grow or launch new products.
A cyberattack doesn’t just drain your bank account. It stalls your business.
What makes this harder is that the tools that actually work, multi-factor authentication, cyber insurance, and regular security audits, are the same ones that are the least widely adopted. Businesses know they need them. Most just haven’t gotten there yet.
The good news: you don’t have to guess at your exposure. A Cyber Liability Scan gives you a clear picture of where your business stands, the gaps attackers look for, the risks you may not know you’re carrying, and where to focus first.
It takes about ten minutes. It costs nothing. And it’s a lot cheaper than $60,000.
