When it comes to the health of your business, protecting your bank account from fraud is crucial. Unfortunately, there are merchant account vendors that may be nothing more than phishing scams. In order to protect yourself from these businesses, you may need to do some research.

Today, every corporation in America has a stock market value. In addition, if a corporation trades those stocks in public, you can find out which market their stock is traded in. You might want to think twice if you find a merchant accounts vendor being traded on the pink sheets or the OTCBB. Almost any investor can tell you that over 50% of the stocks found in these markets are fraudulent operations.

On other hand, if you find a merchant service vendor being traded on the NASDAQ, or even the Dow Jones, chances are it is a reliable company. While you may feel strange asking a potential merchant services vendor what market their stocks are traded on, and how they are identified in the market, it may be the only tool you have to evaluate them. This is especially important if you are seriously considering a non-local vendor.

For the most part, if you see the FDIC logo displayed at a local bank, chances are you are doing business with a legitimate institution. Even if a bank of this type is trading on the pink sheets, chances are you merchant services information will be safe with them. When it comes to assessing other vendors, finding out stock market they are traded on can help you spot a scammer before they harm your business.