Fraud – If you think you are safe you are not!

December 7, 2015 by Andy Crow

Fraud – If you think you are safe you are not!

If you think that Fraud is something that could never happen to your business then it may be time to have a rethink. It is estimated that 1 in 4 small businesses in the UK every year are victims of fraud with losses estimated at over £18 billion pounds. Latest figures also suggest that over 75% of SME’s have had a breach of their IT systems.

The consequences of fraud can be extremely damaging: heavy fines for not protecting your customer data, loss of revenue and possibly the ultimate collapse of your business. As a business owner you need to ensure that you are doing everything you can to ensure that your all your hard work and investment is not systematically wiped out by the fraudster. It may not be the computer hacker sitting in a dark room somewhere in Eastern Europe but could well be your most trusted employee who has fallen into debt and can’t see a way out. Fraud comes in many disguises both internal and external.

As in all crime prevention is key and there are many processes and procedure that can be implemented to help protect your business. Internal procedures can be reviewed and tightened up to minimise the risk of payment fraud, procurement fraud, expense fraud etc. A professional review of your IT infrastructure including a staff awareness campaign on the use of computers can minimise the risk of a cyber attack

In the event of a suspected Fraud or data breach it is important that you get professional advice as soon as possible as the longer it is delayed not only is amount lost growing but the chance of recovery diminishes rapidly. Insurance can compensate for some of the loss and it is important to check what your current business insurance covers if anything.

With over 5 million reported instances of fraud and over 2 million reported cyber incidents a year it is a seriously growing problem. However, all is not lost and there are measures that can be put in place to reduce the risk and the impact on your business.

For more information or advice please call Chorus Business Advisers on 0845 867 1263 or email [email protected]