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18 Apr 2022

When you run your own business or corporation, irrespective of its size, it is important to keep it safe from incidents of fraud.

And while most people associate fraud in a business with outside interference, in many cases, it occurs from within and can be traced back to a single employee or a group of employees who are working together. Not good if you have a lot of staff on your books!

At ABV Solicitors, our fraud solicitor has the expertise required to protect you; if your corporation does succumb to fraud, we can get the best outcome for your team alongside identifying weak areas within your business structure to prevent future recurrence.

But if you are new to the world of running your own business, you may have some queries about corporate fraud. In this article, our fraud solicitor answers 5 common questions that we receive from our clients.

What is considered corporate fraud?

In the UK, corporate fraud is defined as any type of fraud that is committed against a business or corporation. According to our fraud solicitor, such fraud can occur due to people outside of the business (external) or can be due to people who are already employed by the company (internal).

Corporate frauds generally include, but are not limited to:

• Account takeovers
• Bankruptcy-related fraud
• Charitable publications fraud
• Fake invoice fraud
• Insurance fraud
• Personnel management
• Ponzi schemes

How vulnerable are businesses to this type of fraud?

All businesses are vulnerable to corporate fraud; as you can see from the list above, the different kinds of fraud vary widely, and there are quite a few ways that these can be executed by experienced fraudsters.

For instance, if you have a corporation with an online ordering site, you may be at a higher risk of card payment fraud. If you have a corporation handling large sums of money, you have a higher chance of succumbing to invoice and expenses fraud unless the checks are put into place to prevent it.

What are some of the signs of corporate fraud?

Some of the most common signs of corporate fraud include missing files, extreme variations in accounts and budgets, lack of financial audits and, at a more basic level, if the fraud concerns internal staff, there may be a shift in their behaviour. They may try to avoid meetings, act secretively or blame other people for irregularities even though it is their contractual responsibility.

If you spot any of these signs, contact our team at ABV Solicitors for advice.

My business doesn’t use a lot of IT or computers, so it should be safe, shouldn’t it?

Sadly, no.

As mentioned before, many scammers and fraudsters can use paper methods to commit fraud, such as invoice fraud, expenses fraud and simply diverting funds from your business accounts under false pretences.

This is all fraudulent behaviour that does not require a great deal of skill and remains very common.

I’m worried about corporate fraud; what should I do?

If you have concerns that something untoward may be happening within your business, call our team at ABV Solicitors for help; we can conduct an independent audit to identify the fraud and will also aim to protect your company against future occurrences too.