Fraud involves stealing someone’s identity for malicious purposes – usually to extort money or damage a person’s reputation. Businesses can often be the target of all kinds of fraud. Fraudsters may pose as customers, suppliers, employees or other companies. They may even try to pose as your company in order to extort money from others. You might want to consider using private investigators in Glasgow or wherever is local to you to help you confirm if fraud is taking place and find out who is to blame. Below are 7 ways to protect your company from the most common types of fraud.
Know the signs of phishing
Phishing is when a criminal sends a fraudulent message posing as someone trusted such as a bank or the government. Such messages may include emails, phone calls or text messages – such messages often ask for sensitive information or may contain links containing malware or ransomware. Some of these messages can be very convincing so you need to be very careful – you can check out a few signs of phishing here. Make sure to train employees to train employees to spot these signs too.
Shred sensitive documents
Fraudsters can get hold of sensitive information such as bank details and passwords through documents that you may have disposed of (some will even rummage through bins to find such information). Make it harder for fraudsters to retrieve this information by using shredding document services to shred all sensitive documents. Make sure all employees know about this policy.
Choose digital invoices
Invoice fraud is very common. This is when a fraudster intercepts an invoice, copies it and changes the bank details, and then posts it to the customer while posing as your company. Invoice fraud is more likely to happen by post. By switching to digital invoices, you can reduce the risk of a fraudster sending fake invoices in your name.
Trademark your brand
Fraudsters may attempt to pose as your company by hijacking your company name and logo. They may do this in an attempt to steal your customers or even simply to tarnish your brand. While you can take legal action against such behaviour without a trademark, it can be much easier to fight your corner if your brand is trademarked. Consider talking to a trademark lawyer about applying for a trademark.
Background check employees
Some fraudsters may try to get hired by companies so that they can get inside access to sensitive information. It’s worth running background checks on employees to check that they are who they say they are. If they have no online presence and cannot supply legal ID documentation, they may be using a fake identity. So, using something similar to the Iowa background check is vital to ensure safety in your company. Even a criminal background check is also worth carrying out too.
Capture video/photographic evidence
There are various types of fraud that can be proved wrong by taking video or photographic evidence. This could include a delivery company taking a picture of a parcel to prove that it was delivered or a taxi installing a dashcam to capture any attempts of insurance fraud.
Lawyer up
It’s worth having a lawyer that you can call to your defence if your company identity is stolen and you are accused of a crime you didn’t commit. A lawyer may also be able to recommend preventative action that you can take.