Frightened About Fraud?
Implement These Ideas
As a business owner, you have a lot on your plate. There are many different areas of your business to get right, and on top of that, you have to protect your venture from harm too. Fraud and theft can be a huge issue for companies, and if targeted, they could leave you in serious financial ruin to the point where you might need to declare bankruptcy. To protect yourself and stop this from happening, here are a few things to bear in mind:
Know Your Employees
People who have the intention of committing fraud will often display certain behavioral traits. If you observe and listen to your employees, this can help you identify it and therefore lower your fraud risk. One of the best things you can do when it comes to your employees is take time to get to know them. This can mean doing in-depth background checks and also getting to know their character. A change in behavior, for example, could be an indication that something isn’t quite right. Speaking to employees is also useful, and knowing details about people’s personal lives can help you to detect fraud risks and allow you to keep an eye on things. Unfortunately, it’s often the workers you least expect who go on and do these things, so be sure you’re getting to know them and your workforce in general.
Setup Anonymous Reporting
Everyone within your company should be aware of what the fraud risk policy is, and this includes the types of fraud out there and what the consequences are that are associated with them. Knowing that there’s an easy way for managers and other employees to report suspicious behavior can be enough to put anyone off trying it. Around forty percent of fraud in a business setting is detected due to a tip-off, so this isn’t a step to overlook. You could set up a website or tip hotline allowing people to report them anonymously, since they could be dubious of saying anything otherwise.
Monitor Vacation Balances
One way many fraudsters give themselves away is by being too careful. For example, they won’t take holidays in the fear that someone will uncover what they’ve been doing. An excellent attendance record might be an excellent thing to see as the boss, but it could be worth looking into. Your hardest working employee that never takes a day off, even when they’re ill could well be one that’s ripping you off. One way to get around this is to rotate jobs within the company. That way. when the next employee picks up, they will be able to spot anything out of the ordinary.
Verify Your Customers
Of course, fraud doesn’t just come from inside your company, but outside too. Fraudsters posing as customers could make off with cash, equipment or details depending on what they’re targeting. One way you know you’re dealing with who they say they are is by using an ID verification service. This can verify faces as well as capture and verify documents. If you’re hiring anything out for example, this is particularly important. That way you know it will be returned, or that you can take the person to court to recover your costs.
Use Complex Passwords and Firewalls
Another way you can protect yourself as a business is by protecting yourself online. Criminals today aren’t just out to steal what’s in your safe, tills or your expensive equipment. They want your passwords, account information and customer details to commit fraud. If this happens, you could be in serious trouble. Customers could sue you, and you could end up with a huge lawsuit on your hands for putting their information at risk. Using complex passwords and ensuring your antivirus and firewalls are all working correctly means you have the best chances of keeping the bad guys out.
Backup To The Cloud
Finally, backing up your data is essential. But if you do this to a physical drive like a hard drive or USB, this could be stolen. If you backup to the cloud, your files are encrypted for safety, and if anyone takes your physical device, they can’t access the information stored on it. This is a modern technique that all businesses can implement to prevent fraud. Business software has come a long way in the past few years. If you don’t get on board, your company could be lagging behind and at risk of being overtaken by your competitors.
