6 Critical Fraud Prevention Tips and Tools for Businesses

Did you know that the Federal Trade Commission received around 2.2 million reports of consumer fraud in 2020 alone?

Whether you're a consumer or a business, the risk of fraud can be nerve-wracking. A single instance of fraud could result in a loss of thousands, if not more. This is why it's so important to do everything you can to prevent even one incident.

Are you wondering what you can do to protect yourself and your business? Keep reading to learn all about 6 critical fraud prevention tips and tools for businesses.

1. Secure Your Computers

Getting security on all your computers is one of the best things you can do to prevent business fraud. After all, this is where most, if not all, of your sensitive data is stored.

At the rate cybercrime occurs, it's expected that the global damages will amount to almost $11 trillion by 2025.

If there's so much as a crack in your computer software, a hacker will be able to infiltrate it. That's why it's important to have reliable antivirus software. It's also crucial to update your software on a regular basis.

Of course, you could have all the security in the world, but it won't do much good if your employees use a password, like "password123". It's important to issue powerful passwords to every employee and have them changed about once every month or so.

Don't forget to backup sensitive data at least once a week, if not daily.

2. Lock Down Your Bank Accounts

If you want to know how to prevent fraud, then your bank accounts should be as secure as your business computers. You should only give credit cards to employees who truly need them. Even then, it's a good habit to ensure that the credit card has sufficient fraud protection from the provider.

It's also best to handle your banking on a digital medium. Physical paperwork is more likely to get into the hands of a criminal, for instance. However, you shouldn't neglect digital security either.

The best online banking will provide you with automatic log-outs as well as other protective functions, such as relevant activity alerts.

Be sure to separate your personal bank accounts from your business ones. Not only does this make running a business smoother, but it can also keep at least half of your assets protected if one of the accounts gets compromised.

3. Verify All Identities

When it comes to fraud prevention tools, your business can't do without ID verification software. Nowadays, technology is so sophisticated that people can impersonate others with ease. With the right know-how, they can even pretend to represent entire businesses.

The good news is that technology is also sophisticated enough to weed these people out. Rather than leaving yourself vulnerable and trusting people who could be impostors, identity-verification tools will allow you to confirm someone's identity before you start doing any business with them.

ID Authenticate, ID Verify, and Watchlist Search are all reliable tools you can use for the job. That way, you can have peace of mind knowing that your hard-earned money is going into the right hands.

4. Perform Thorough Background Checks

Just as a person on the internet could be an imposter, you don't really know who you're hiring until you run an exhaustive background check on them. If you try to save money by skipping this step in the hiring process, you can end up paying a lot more as a victim of fraud.

There are plenty of reputable businesses that can provide all your potential hires with thorough background checks. Depending on the work involved, a background check should cost around $50 per person, if not less than that.

Aside from the fraud protection, that background checks will give you, they'll also allow you to put more trust in your employees. Without a solid foundation of trust and morale, a business can't survive, let alone thrive.

5. Get Fraud Experts on Your Team

As you hire employees, you should also consider getting fraud experts on your team. They can help design rules and regulations that will go a long way toward protecting your business.

For instance, a certified public account (CPA) can ensure that everything related to your finances adds up. There's also a range of other professionals who would be great assets to your team, such as a certified fraud examiner (CFE).

However, it's equally important, if not more so, to run background checks on these individuals, too. It would be a tragedy to hire a fraud examiner who turns out to be a fraud themselves.

6. Entry Security

Some businesses are so big, it can be a real challenge keeping track of who's coming and who's going. The last thing you'd want is for a stranger with criminal intentions to get inside your building.

If your business is growing fast, then you should invest in a secure entry system for your employees. With something as simple as a keycard, you'll be able to let in the people who belong. The system will also keep track of the time at which people arrive and leave, which can come in handy if a fraud incident were to occur.

Are You Ready to Invest in Fraud Prevention?

Now that you've learned all about 6 critical fraud prevention tips and tools for businesses, you can do what's necessary to protect your livelihood and those of your employees. Running a business is enough of a challenge without having to lose sleep over potential fraud.

In addition to helping your business with credit and debt solutions, Microbilt can also provide you with all the tools you'll ever need for fraud prevention. Whether you're a small business or a corporation, our products are built to protect and assist everyone. With our tools, preventing fraud has never been easier.

Do you have some questions about our highly-rated products and services? All you have to do is reach out to us and we'd be happy to provide you with any information you need.