https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/1255443737/facebook-scams-small-business-cyber-crime
Small businesses are bearing the brunt of cybercrime at alarming rates, with new data revealing they fall victim to attacks four times more frequently than large enterprises. The vulnerability of mom-and-pop operations was highlighted in the case of Hillary Hanning, owner of The Little House bar in New Orleans, who lost her business’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to scammers last November. The attack began with a fraudulent Facebook message claiming account irregularities, leading to a sophisticated social engineering scheme that ultimately cost Hanning $10,000 when she fell victim to a secondary scammer impersonating Meta customer service.
According to recent analysis by Verizon, small businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees represent the majority of cyber attack victims, while a Mastercard survey found that nearly half of small and medium-sized businesses experienced cyber attacks, with 20% subsequently filing for bankruptcy or closing permanently. Cybersecurity experts argue that the current system unfairly burdens small business owners, who often juggle multiple roles and lack the resources to become cybersecurity experts. Michael Daniel of the Cyber Threat Alliance emphasizes that expecting business owners to handle their own cybersecurity is unrealistic, stating that the responsibility should shift to tech companies rather than pushing the burden to individual users.
The incident exposes broader concerns about Meta’s security infrastructure and response capabilities. While 41 state attorneys general demanded stronger action from Meta last year, the company maintains that combating scams requires collective effort from governments, banks, and other stakeholders. Despite Meta’s claims of investing in anti-fraud technology, Hanning’s case demonstrates critical gaps in the platform’s security measures and customer support systems. Her accounts were only restored after media intervention, highlighting the inadequate resources available to small businesses facing similar threats in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.