The conventional wisdom is that you should get a separate checking account for your small business, to keep your personal and business finances separate, but that might not be such a good idea after all. According to a recent business column in the LA Times, opening a separate small business account can put your money at risk:

Bao, who runs a small import-export business, had $50,000 stolen from his bank account by computer hackers in Croatia. Bank of America has refused to reimburse him, saying the loss was his problem, not the bank’s.

Had the money been stolen out of a personal account, the bank’s response would have been dramatically different. Federal law would have required the bank to reimburse Bao.

But, unbeknown to many, business and personal accounts are governed by completely different rules. Those rules protect individuals from online hacking but can leave small-business owners to twist in the wind.

Normally that would merely be worrisome. But it’s far more frightening now because technology and law enforcement experts believe there is a huge wave growing of sophisticated criminal enterprises that target small-business bank accounts.

Source: LA Times