One of the negatives of the digital age is that it comes with a lot of potential for online fraud. And unfortunately it’s often smaller firms that can suffer the most. If you are to ever find yourself in trouble with fraud you should definitely look to a fraud solicitor for help. Here is some advice on protecting your company and on putting a policy together to prevent external theft.
Helpful points to protect against fraud
First – When looking into ways to help protect your business against fraud, your staff need to be informed and involved in the process. Ask yourself what the holes in your security are and how people could get through. Make sure you are holding regular training sessions and refreshers on security systems you do have in place. Keep all employees up to date on what your policies regarding confidential data are – this can include financial data, client information or even employee information. Make sure your staff are on the ball with what scamming and phishing looks like.
Second – Know your business, now this might sound obvious, but you do need to keep on top of things. As business grows it can be easy at times to lose track. Ask yourself do you still know how your business operates? Are you aware of all the people you employ? What are you selling to customers? Do you know your target markets and what your legal obligations are? Being clear on all things business related will mean you will know straight away when something is wrong.
Third – Do you really know where your business is vulnerable to fraud? Take some time to imagine how a fraudster might be able to attack your business – be it internally or externally. Test the systems you have in place to reduce risk of them successfully doing so.
Fourth – Understand your finances. This can include how people pay you, who has authority to take those payments, and how they are legitimised.
Fifth – Be on top of your inventory. This goes beyond the products you are selling; this includes anything of value to your business. What holds value? Any work computers, smartphones, cars, anything of value – this can also include intellectual property. You also need to keep on top of what is and isn’t insured.
Sixth – Have an action plan ready. You could need to use a fraud solicitor in which case why not already have someone reliable you can trust ready to help. Prevention is of course always better than cure, but it’s also important you are ready for the worst case scenario. Better safe than sorry.
Finally, remember to always report fraud and get help. There are plenty of online resources to help you in your hour of need. There are websites like Action Fraud which is the National Cybercrime Reporting Centre, but also provide info on fraud crime and other types of financially motivated crime.
You can also always report fraud to the police by calling 101 to speak to a member of their operating team.
