How businesses can reduce the risk of fraud with a secure payment service

A new report suggests that the value of UK fraud hits a 15 year high of £2.11bn in 2017.

The financial services industry saw the biggest rise in fraud growing to £899.7m last year, compared with £214.9m in 2016. The report also suggests that it’s not just the financial services sector that is taking a hit, the retail sector saw a rise in fraud cases, growing from £4.2m in 2016 to £337.3m last year.

If you have experienced fraud within your business, make sure you have a secure payment service as the first step to help reducing the risk of payment fraud. Businesses can be targeted in many ways and we have outlined some of the key areas to keep a close eye on that could affect your small businesses.

External attacks

Even though you may have a trusting relationship with your suppliers you need to set up a spot check on invoices to make sure they match prices you agree. Fraud can happen through some of the closest relationships in your business, such as suppliers you use. Highly advanced fraudsters can copy the layout of company emails to request updated bank details so make sure you know who you are communicating with.  

Cybercrime is becoming more advanced and businesses are now more at risk from cybercrime than consumers, according to data collated by the Office for National Statistics. Make sure you have a secure payment service in place so you can closely monitor payments to and from your business.   

Ex-employees 

If an employee who has been exposed to sensitive information has recently left your business make sure you regularly change your user name and passwords to avoid any data breaches.

Internal fraud  

If you notice your employees displaying suspicious behaviour such as, unwilling to take annual leave or being reluctant to let others get involved in their work, don’t ignore this. Address their behaviour, this may be a personal issue that you can help with but if it is suspicious, you can prevent it before it’s too late.

Account fraud can also happen within your business so make sure you keep a close eye on your accounts and expense claims to confirm they match up.

A step you can take today to help reduce the risk of payment fraud is to make sure you have a secure payment service.  Handepay provide secure payment processing solutions for businesses, offering face to face, over the phone and online payments. 

For more information get in contact with one of our advisors on 01942 407 956 or visit our website.