Worrying new research shows that a third of UK companies have been targeted by fraudsters in the past 18 months, according to research carried out by credit risk managers Graydon UK.
Martin Williams, MD of Graydon UK, commented: "Fraud remains a persistent threat to business stability. Although fraud levels typically rise during economic downturns, measures like the 2006 Fraud Act, which was brought into force to improve conviction rates, and the setting up of the National Fraud Authority, appear to have made little impact."
The most common type of fraud experienced appears to be fraudulent credit applications, which account for nearly half reported incidents. Internet fraud also poses a significant threat, with 16% of firms reporting that they have been affected, followed by 13% who have been targeted by corporate hijackers.
"Many UK businesses perceive, rightly or wrongly, that the police do not place white collar crime very high on their agenda and assume instead that companies will just write off the loss as another bad debt," adds Williams.
"The Government has already indicated that it is prepared to fight back against the benefit fraud that costs the taxpayer billions every year by using credit reference agencies to monitor citizens requesting benefits. It now needs to show the same level of commitment to address the problem of commercial fraud."
Graydon UK has identified a number of steps that businesses can take to protect themselves against the threat of corporate fraud:
Always obtain a credit report for customers and suppliers that does not simply regurgitate Companies House data but one that tracks and analyses unusual patterns of corporate behaviour in order to identify potential fraud
Never set up a client account until their application has been fully processed
Always check clients' trading and registered office addresses
Be wary of mobile phone numbers and non-business e-mail addresses such as hotmail or yahoo
Check whether your customers have a website when establishing their identity
Most companies will pay their bills by completing a purchase order from their accounts department - make sure that you obtain a copy of this before sending an invoice
When dealing with non incorporated businesses, always request original copies of utility bills quoting the delivery address
Double check all delivery addresses, keeping a close eye on what sounds like residential addresses
Check whether clients are VAT registered by calling the VAT Office for confirmation
It is also extremely important to flag certain events and details that seem out of the ordinary. Here are some examples of incidents which should alert firms to the possibility of fraudulent activity taking place:
Is a sudden change of delivery address provided to you by the client?
Is there a last minute call to collect the goods rather than have them despatched to the quoted delivery address?
Is the delivery address given by the client shown on the credit report you obtained from your agency?
Are the telephone numbers of the business you are dealing with fixed line or non geographic such as 0800 numbers?
Have you received an order on the last afternoon of the month? Fraudsters, like credit managers, understand the pressure from the sales department!
Look out for unusually large orders placed at the start of a new month, where a fraudster will anticipate that they have the longest timeframe before you chase for? Have you received a large first time order on a credit card? If so, be wary.
