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Is your Business FraudSMART?

Most businesses would like to think that they are protected against fraud but SMEs can be particularly vulnerable compared to larger companies due to more limited resources, less investment in security infrastructure as well as lower financial buffers to withstand any losses. Fraudsters take advantage of busy work schedules and create a sense of urgency in the hope that an employee will react without thinking and won’t take the time to do necessary checks. FraudSMART is advising businesses to be alert to scams and focus on prevention by reviewing business security measures, taking proactive steps to protect against scams and ensuring that employees are up-to-date on current best practices.

Business Fraud. Invoice on a laptop screen

The two most common types of fraud targeted at businesses are:

Invoice re-direction fraud

Invoice re-direction fraud occurs when a business receives a fraudulent email claiming to be from an existing supplier/creditor or in some incidents a staff member within the same company. The fraudster advises that the bank details for the payment of future invoices should be changed or requests that a payment should be made into another account. These approaches can me made over the telephone, by letter, fax and by email. Often there is no immediate request for payment, when a legitimate invoice is issued, the payment will go to the ‘new account’ controlled by the fraudster.

CEO impersonation fraud

CEO impersonation fraud takes place when an email purporting to be from the Chief Executive Officer or a senior member of the team is sent to the Finance Team requesting that an urgent payment be made to a supplier or another third party or in some cases to the senior member themselves.

Fraud Prevention Guide for Businesses

FraudSMART has a free fraud prevention guide for businesses outlining the common types of financial fraud affecting Irish SMEs and providing advice on how to avoid them. Download here.

Protecting your Business from fraud – the FraudSMART campaign

Together with support from Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Peter Burke, FraudSMART has joined forces with the Irish SME Association (ISME) to urge SMEs to be on the alert and put measures in place to protect their business. July will see a month-long campaign to encourage Irish businesses to be alert to fraud and put the appropriate measures in place to protect their business.