Question

Amazon:

(Describe the fraud risks (Please be industry specific, you can find this out indirectly by reading more about the company)

Answer 1

Modern itrends iin ibusiness ifraud

It’s ia isad ifact ithat ifor ievery itime-saving iinnovation iin imodern itechnology, ithere iis isomeone iwilling ito iexploit iit ifor icriminal igain. iAs ionline ibanking iand iintegrated iaccounting isoftware ihave ievolved, iso itoo ihave itechniques ito icommit ifraud.

While idigital ibanking isystems ihave iclosed ithe iloop ion icertain itypes iof ifraud isuch ias iphysical iinvoice ifabrication, ithey ihave ialso igiven irise ito inew iforms iof ifraud isuch ias iidentity itheft iand iphishing.

In ifact, iidentity itheft iis inow iso icommon, ifraud iprevention iservice iCifas ireported i89,000 icases iin ithe iUK iin ithe ifirst ihalf iof i2017 ialone. iThis imakes iit icrucial ifor iemployees ito ibe iaware iof ithe irisks, iand ito ikeep itheir isensitive iinformation isafe iand isecure.

With ithat iin imind, iwe’ll inow iexamine ithe ifour ibiggest ifraud irisks ifacing ifinance iteams itoday.

The ifour ibiggest ifraud irisks ifinance iteams iface

In iaddition ito igood iold iclassics ilike iinvoice ifabrication iand iunauthorized icash itransfers, ithe ifour ibiggest ifraud irisks ifaced iby ifinance iteams iin ithe imodern iwork ienvironment iare:

ü Identity itheft iand iaccount itakeover

ü Mobile ibanking ifraud

ü Expense ifraud

ü Social iengineering ifraud

These irisks iinclude ia imix iof ithreats iinternal ito ithe ibusiness, ias iwell ias ithose ifrom ioutside. iLet’s ilook iat ithem ione iby ione.

Identity itheft iand iaccount itakeover

Identity itheft iis ino ilonger ijust isomething ithat iaffects ipeople iin itheir iprivate ilives: ifraudsters iare itargeting ibusinesses, itoo. iFor iexample, iin i2010 ia ifraudster imanaged ito irack iup imore ithan i$200,000 iin ilong-distance icalls ito iAfrica iby iaccessing ithe iphone isystem iof ia ismall ilaw ifirm iin iOntario, iCanada.

Attempts iat ibusiness iidentity itheft ioften iinvolve iphishing, iwhereby ia ifraudster iimpersonates isomeone iwithin ia ibusiness iin iorder ito iextract isensitive iinformation ifrom ia itarget. iThe ifraudster ican ithen iaccess ia irange iof isensitive irecords, iusing ithese ito iincur iserious idamage, ieven iapplying ifor ioverdrafts iand ilines iof icredit.

For iexample, ia ifraudster imay iemail ian iemployee iposing ias itheir imanager ior iCEO iand iasking ifor isensitive iinformation isuch ias ia idatabase ipassword. iIf iprovided, ithis iwould iallow iaccess ito ieven imore isensitive iinformation, iproviding iample ifodder ifor ifraudulent iactivity.

Mobile ibanking ifraud

With imore ibanking ibeing idone ivia ismartphones, iincluding ibusiness ibanking, ismartphone iapplications iare iincreasingly isubject ito itargeting iby ifraudsters. iThis iincludes isophisticated iattempts ito iexploit iintegrated imobile itechnology, isuch ias ilinks ibetween ibank iaccounts iand imobile ipayment iplans.

If iyou ior iyour iteam iare iusing imobile ibanking ifacilities ifor iyour ibusiness, iyou ishould ibe iaware iof ibest isecurity ipractices. iIn iparticular, iyou ishould iinform iyour ibank ipromptly iif iyou inotice iany isigns iof iunusual ior iunexplained iaccount iactivity.

Expense ifraud

iAs ia ilot iof iemployee iexpenses iare iincurred iin isituations iof ilimited ioversight i(for iexample, iwhen iemployees iare itravelling ior iworking iweekends), iit ican ibe ichallenging ito iverify ithe ivalidity iof iexpenses.

Expense ifraud ialso iincludes imisuse iof icompany icredit icards. iEven iwith iclear iexpense ipolicies iin iplace, icompany icredit icards iare iparticularly iopen ito imisuse.

Social iengineering ifraud

iThis ican ilead ito isensitive ior iprivate iinformation ibeing idisclosed.

iFraudsters iare inow iable ito itarget ibusinesses iusing i“spoofed” iphone inumbers, imeaning ithat iwhen icalling, itheir itrue inumber iis imasked iwith ia ilegitimate ione, ifor iexample, ithat iof ia igovernment itax idepartment.

With ithese ifour irisks iin imind, ilet’s iexamine isome iof ithe isigns ithat ifraud imay ibe ioccurring iin iyour ibusiness.

How ican iyou iprevent ithe ipossibility iof ifraud?

There iare ia inumber iof isteps iyou ican itake ito ibetter iprotect iyour ibusiness:

ü Have iclear ipolicies iin iplace. iThis isounds iobvious, ibut imany iworkplaces idon’t ibother ito iimplement ipolicies ioutlining ithe ivarious iforms iof iworkplace ifraud i(including iexpense ifraud) iand ithe icompany’s istance ion ithese. iThese ipolicies ishould ioutline iclearly iand ifirmly ithe isteps ithat iwill ibe itaken iin iresponse.

And iof icourse, iyour iwhole icompany ishould iknow iand iunderstand ithe ipolicy.

ü Update isecurity iand isystems. iHaving ioutdated isystems ican igive irise ito ifraud. iBusinesses ishould iinvest iin imodern itechnology, iand ishould iupdate itheir isecurity iand isoftware ion ia iregular ibasis. iThis ican iinclude iaccounting isoftware idesigned ito idetect ianomalous ipayments, ias iwell ias imulti-step iinvoice ipayment iprocesses.

ü Automate imanual iprocesses. iManual iprocesses isuch ias iexpense iclaims iare inot ionly iwidely ihated, ibut ican igive irise ito ifraud.

ü Regular iaudits iand irisk iassessments: iRoutine iand iregular iaudits iperformed iby ia ithird-party iare ian iexcellent iway ito ispot ipotential ifraud. iWhile ithese ishould ibe iregular, ithey ishould ialso ibe iinformal i- ithere ishould ibe ino iopportunity ifor ianyone ito iprepare.

ü Provide iinformation ion ithe irisks iof iexternal ifraud: iStaff ishould iknow iabout ithe irisks iof ifraud ifrom ioutside ithe ibusiness, isuch ias isocial iengineering iscams ior iidentity itheft. iMost iimportantly, istaff ishould iknow inever ito iprovide iany isensitive iinformation ivia iemail ior iphone iunder iany icircumstances.

Consider ithese isteps, iand idecide iif ithere iis ianything imore iyou icould ibe idoing ito iprevent ifraud.