The CFIB says about one in five small businesses in Canada were scammed in some form in 2015.

Provincial Affairs Director Elliot Sims says one of the best ways to prevent fraud is to take your time and thoroughly research potential business deals before accepting anything.

"In many cases, business owners and their employees need to be aware of the different signs of how something might be fraudulent and why something might be fraudulent, and take the time to investigate the proposal that is coming forth.

Sims cites credit card fraud as the most common type of fraud facing small businesses. He says an unconventional, but surprisingly common type is directory fraud.

"If a business owner paid for [a spot in a business directory], it could be considered fraud, because in reality, this is just someone who's trying to scam them. They have no intention of actually printing that directory."