Dubois County chamber offers free fraud defense workshop for businesses

A single counterfeit bill or bad check can erase the profit from an entire shift at a Jasper, Huntingburg or Ferdinand business, which is why the Dubois County Chamber of Commerce put fraud defense front and center with its free workshop, “Don’t Take the Bait: Fake Bills & Fraud Defense.”

The session was aimed at employers and front-line staff who handle cash, checks and customer transactions every day. That focus matters in Dubois County, where a hurried checkout line, a rushed invoice approval or a staff member unsure about a suspicious payment can create a costly opening for fraud. For small, independent shops, one bad transaction can hit harder than it would for a large chain.

The Chamber said the workshop fit its broader mission of serving businesses of all sizes through leadership, advocacy and member-to-member collaboration at the county, regional and state levels. Making the class free lowered the barrier for smaller operations that may not have formal loss-prevention training but still serve as the first line of defense against counterfeit currency and fraudulent checks.

Federal agencies have been warning that the problem is getting worse. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service said on Jan. 27, 2025, that check fraud is on the rise and that suspicious activity reports tied to check fraud nearly doubled from 2021 to 2023. The Federal Trade Commission says the best protection is an informed staff, clear procedures for approving purchases and invoices, and employees who do not rush into payments or share sensitive information under pressure.

Counterfeit cash remains a threat as well. The United States Secret Service says advances in scanning and printing devices have made counterfeit U.S. currency a moving target, and it advises businesses to report suspected fake bills to local police, while banks can also help identify counterfeit notes.

The scale of the broader problem is clear in the FBI’s 2024 Internet Crime Report, which recorded 859,532 complaints and more than $16 billion in reported losses, a 33% increase from 2023. The report’s top complaint categories by volume were phishing and spoofing, extortion and personal data breaches, a reminder that payment fraud and digital scams often overlap.

Local concern is not abstract. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Indiana said in 2025 that two Evansville men were sentenced after making at least 30 fake $100 bills by washing lower-denomination notes and reprinting them. The Dubois County Sheriff’s Office has also promoted scam-prevention efforts before, reinforcing the message that fraud defense is now part of routine business risk management in the county.