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25 Apr 2022

When you run a small business or company, you want to make sure that every aspect of it is legal and above board – for your own sanity more than anything else!

But in recent times, scammers and fraudsters have made it their specialist area to scam smaller businesses, forcing them into bankruptcy or masses of debt, which can have devastating consequences.

At ABV Solicitors, our fraud solicitor can help if your business has been at the receiving end of a scam and, if you are looking for some way to prevent your business from becoming targeted, we can help in this area too.

So how can you help to prevent business fraud in your own company? Read on for tips from our fraud solicitor.

Always be suspicious!

So we don’t mean always be suspicious, as this will drive you insane, but there is an old saying that if there is a deal or in this case, a business venture which sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And so, as the head of any business enterprise, you should be thoroughly inspecting the small print on any business deals, mergers, the documentation you receive, transactions and financial areas of your company.

Computers are helpful!

If you run a small shop front business, like a pet store for instance, it is unlikely that you are going to have anyone on your staff who can overwrite computer programs put in place to detect suspicious activity.

Our fraud solicitor will often state that those who have smaller businesses should invest in fraud detection software, so any unusual transactions or discrepancies in your business accounts can be flagged up promptly. Which saves you and your staff time and money!

Identify areas

There is, unfortunately, no such thing as a foolproof business, especially when hackers are becoming more skilled in their operations.

So, one of the areas that we can help you with is to identify weak areas in your business both external and internal, and offer systems to protect these areas from exploitation. We also generally advise you and your staff to become trained in how to use these systems, so you can oversee that they are running correctly. We also typically advise regular audits to make sure everything is in order.

Know your finances!

Much in the same way that you should know your business inside and out, you should also have insight into how money leaves your business, how often and in what quantities.

This includes how your business pays for things, who on your staff has the authority to make those payments and who checks the books each week. You should also have a budget relating to monthly expenditure to refer back to, to help you detect any unusual spending.

Action plans

No one wants to envision the worst-case scenario, but it is always wise to have an action plan in place should the worst happen.

Of course, preventing fraud is better than responding to it, but having a decisive plan in place can save you time and money in the long term.