Millions of businesses are victims of fraud each year. But one Texas business recently realized how much a strong community of customers can help when facing this type of challenge.

Alex Lyons, owner of the boutique Rae of Sunshine Collective in Denison, Texas, realized last year that hundreds of dollars had been taken from her accounts due to fraudulent checks.

Lyons explained to local news outlet KXII, “She had temporary checks that were from my business account. She wrote a fake name on them, signature, went to my bank and cashed them.”

Upon noticing the missing money, Lyons immediately went to her bank. They told her they would open an investigation. But they couldn’t guarantee that the missing money would be returned.

Instead of feeling dejected or accepting the loss, Lyons took action. She filed a police report, updated her community on social media, and came up with an idea for a unique promotion.

She told KXII, “I made a little video, just talking about what had happened, and I did a little sale for the week to try and recoup the money. And the fraudulent name that she used was Amanda. So we did an Amanda stole my money sale.”

Within the week, she had made back all the money she lost in extra sales. And her bank eventually returned the money to her account upon completing their investigation.

According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, U.S. Businesses will lose an average of 5 percent of their gross revenues to fraud. The organization also found that private companies and small businesses experience the highest rates of fraud, with 42 percent suffering some kind of loss.

These statistics may seem bleak for small businesses. But Lyons’ story can inspire small business owners to take action to avoid and/or overcome these issues in creative ways. While an “Amanda Stole My Money” sale may not be in your future, building a supportive community of customers to rally around your business after a tough period can be helpful to nearly any company.

Image: Envato

This article, “Small Business Owner Hosts Unique Promotion to Overcome Fraud Losses” was first published on Small Business Trends