Business Fraud Protection
Earlier this week I was at a job helping a client recover from business fraud. At this point he has been in business for over 30 years building forensic equipment. He was an unfortunate victim to business fraud. The hardest part of the story for me was it was the business owners brother. His own family had betrayed him and embezzled a large amount of funds from the business. Ultimately, this forced him to shut down the company and restructure. He was able to survive these tragic events, but it was an event that almost completely wiped him off the map.
After seeing this I definitely took the time to look over my business and focused on safety and security and protecting my business from fraud. Fraud can happen from the most unsuspecting of characters. Also, someone who is stealing from your business is unlikely to raise any other alarms or red flags. The repercussions from fraud are severe and the trick for the thief is to look squeaky clean. If someones own brother can steal from them, then imagine what a complete stranger can do with no attachment or concern for your well being. This case opened my eyes. I took security of my business very seriously, but I always thought of it as something that happens to someone else. Before meeting this person I never had met anyone who has been a personal victim to identity or business fraud. However, it’s real and it happens and if you do not take the proper precautions to prevent it then it could take your business or you down. The worst part is by the time your realize you have been a victim it’s usually to late.
So how can you protect against business fraud? There are a few things you can do as a small business to help protect your business.
Access To Money And Check Writing
Don’t give anyone else the ability to write checks on behalf of your business. In the case I spoke about before the brother was the accountant for the business and he had the ability to cash and write checks on behalf of the company. If you cut off the many different vulnerabilities your business has to fraud you can better protect your investment. One of the easiest ways to steal from someone is if they have given you access to their bank account. Prevent the possibility that someone other than you and your partners can access your bank account and write checks and make withdrawals on your behalf.
Sure Up Your Network Security
Your network is the next vulnerable aspect to your business and that little code your router comes with is not a big enough fence to deter against fraud. Take the proper steps to prevent outside access (or even worse inside access to your network gone awry). Some businesses don’t take the time to make their computers private. If someone has access to your network they can then peek on to every device on that network. Take the time to put in place to proper security measures on each device that will be accessing your network. Especially, the devices that are involved with your financing. Your main computer and cell phone are the perfect places to start. The first step to making them more secure is to turn of the share information with the network feature. On most devices this feature is set to allow other devices on the network to access your devices. If you are operating Windows simply visit your control panel and turn off the ability for other devices on your network to access your computer
Passwords
If you use the same password or group of passwords for everything then you are making it really easy for someone to crack your passwords. If they know one they know them all. These days we have close to a hundred accounts that we have to remember passwords for and it is next to impossible to remember unique and strong passwords for each account. It’s time to turn to outside help to give you an extra buffer in password security. Programs such as LastPass and KeyPass are designed to make random passwords for each of your accounts and store them so you can conveniently log into any account without having to remember all your passwords. The best part is the passwords these programs generate are so random and obscure that no one would be able to guess them based on any clues or hints they may have access to.
Firewalls
If you don’t already have one you should look into a firewall to protect your network from outside intrusion. Firewalls are designed to protect your network from security threats. First off they limit and restrict the ability of people on your network to visit harmful sites or download harmful files. They also protect your network from the outside in by limiting the ability from outsiders to intrude upon your network. A firewall will help keep your network safe and prevent you from becoming a victim of business fraud.