We all know about fraud these days. From Nigerian scammers to those bogus calls from the police claiming that fraudsters are hacking into our bank accounts, most of us are aware that our savings and our actual identities are at risk. Knowing how to protect ourselves against cyber-fraud is something else entirely.
Protection against fraud
Business is the biggest target for cyber fraud, although most of the stories we hear about are the tales of individual loss. Why? Because no business wants to admit it’s been scammed and because insurance companies often require businesses to remain silent about losses. But there’s another reason that business fraud doesn’t hit the headlines – it’s the very poor clean up rate. We read with interest an interview with a leading private investigator in this field, whose case load looks very much like our own in this area. He suggested that one reason for the low number of successes in resolving business fraud is that the police just don’t investigate them effectively, citing a 2004 Home Office circular on fraud as the reason.
We agree with this statement, but go further. When we are asked to investigate a case where a business has been defrauded or scammed, our professional private detectives often find that there is an inside component – sometimes a member of staff who’s sold data or a member of the senior team or board who’s been supplying confidential information to a rival or to the fraudsters. This is something that very few businesses want to reveal to the wider world, and it’s easy to avoid.
Counter-surveillance and CV checking for business
Making sure that the people you employ or partner with are above board is an investment in business success. One in four CVs turns out to be fraudulent in some way or other, and many people who offer loans or partnerships to the UK’s SMEs have concealed bankruptcies in their backgrounds. Our dedicated investigative teams know how to establish the real facts about an individual involved in your business, so you don’t invite the problem across the threshold in the first place!
Fraud prevention and recovery
If you feel you’re under attack, we can also provide counter surveillance measures to find out if somebody is damaging your business from the inside out. Finally, if you’re unlucky enough to be one of the over 40% of businesses who has been subject to some kind of fraud, from fake invoicing to CEO Fraud, there are often ways we can help regain some if not all of your money, or assist you in making a successful insurance claim to cover your losses.