You may recall our recent MIA drop-in where we asked our members to share their experiences in regards to credit card and online fraud. There is no doubt that due to the increase in distance selling following the pandemic, concerns about fraud have become a much more prevalent issue. Therefore we’re really pleased to share these hints and tips for protecting your business against fraud, shared with us from our friends at the IRC.
Fraudsters have many ways of targeting businesses, whether anonymously online, posing as a customer, or in your employment. This guide aims to provide you with some popular hints and tips for identifying potential fraud to help you protect your business.
TIP 01 –
BE SCEPTICAL – If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Always approach deals/new business opportunities/transactions with an open, inquiring, and questioning mind.
TIP 02 –
KNOW YOUR BUSINESS INSIDE OUT – By having a thorough understanding of your business it will ensure that you know:
- how it operates
- the staff you employ
- the products and services it provides
- your target market and your business obligations, both legal and regulatoryAll this will help you detect when something is not right.
TIP 03 –
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS – Understanding who you do business with will help you identify occasions where a seemingly ordinary business request or transaction looks out of the ordinary for that customer or supplier and may be potentially fraudulent. It is important that you conduct due diligence using a risk based approach – verify the legitimacy of the customer/supplier details you have stored on file/record as well as online searches.
TIP 04 –
IDENTIFY AREAS WHERE YOUR BUSINESS IS VULNERABLE TO FRAUD – Take time to imagine how a fraudster may target your business, internally and externally and consider testing the systems you have put in place to reduce your exposure to fraud/risk. Train your staff on those systems and review them on a regular basis.
TIP 05 –
DEVELOP A STRATEGY AND TALK ABOUT FRAUD – Consider a prevention strategy that details controls and procedures to prevent and detect fraud that is adequate and appropriate for your business. Staff will look to you for guidance as to what behaviour is acceptable. Talk about fraud with your staff, suppliers and any other contacts. Your staff should understand the risks and impact of any losses on the business and to themselves.
“Make sure that your business technology / website is adequately protected against attacks”
TIP 06 –
TAKE EXTRA CARE WITH ALL THINGS CYBER – With increasing threats from cybercrime make sure that your business technology/website is adequately protected against attacks. Make sure that you back up your systems in case they go wrong.
TIP 07 –
UNDERSTAND YOUR FINANCES – Understand how money leaves your business/ bank account e.g. methods of payment, who has the authority to make those payments and who checks that those payments are legitimate. Always check your bank statements!
We hope you’ve found this helpful! If you’d like to read on from the hints and tips available on preventing fraud, you can find the full report below.
