We were all excited when a last-minute, big order came through - a $7,500 order of 1,000 cupcakes is significant for a small business like mine. These kinds of orders don't come through too often, probably about five times a year. The order seemed legitimate; they gave a lot of details about what they wanted. I always prepare my team by saying that if we have a large pending order, we only start work on it once we get the deposit or they pay in full.
Then, the clients suddenly said they wanted to cut the order in half. Part of me thought, maybe we should offer a partial refund. I didn't want to lose half of this order - a significant amount of money for my bakery. Then, they ghosted us. The next day, the funds were withdrawn from our account. It later transpired that it was a counterfeit check, and they had been trying to get me to send half of that money somewhere else.
When we realized it was actually a scam and we weren't going to get any money from this order, it felt like a big waste of time, resources, energy, and stress. It was also just upsetting. I'm feeling a bit of PTSD. Running a business is hard enough without having to deal with issues like this.
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