Company policy is not enough to prevent you falling victim to fraud, warns an investigations firm.
It was reported in the news recently that Wirral Council had lost £45,000 to fraudsters due to employees and senior level officers not following company procedures put in place to highlight fraudulent activity. Expert Investigations a commercial investigations company that works with private and public organisations across the UK investigating matters such as fraud, comes across these types of issues on a regular basis.
Research indicates that companies can reduce fraud by half with the use of regular employee training, employee support programs and surprise audits. Having a company fraud policy and procedure in place is not enough, processes and checks are also needed to ensure that the policies are being carried out by the employees.
It is apparent to Expert Investigations that often companies have a lack of internal fraud controls and enforcement. There is usually no internal investigative skill to conduct a thorough investigation into an internal fraud case and due to police being stretched, often they are not able to respond to conduct an investigation. Outside assistance from external agencies may be required, says the firm.
David Kearns, Managing Director of Expert Investigations, pictured, says: “If a fraudster understands a company’s procedures, which is often due to internal collusion, they are able to exploit any vulnerabilities and this enables opportunities to commit fraud. This is an important learning point for all companies.”
A similar scenario has come with one of Expert Investigation’s clients, a Housing Association in the South East, who has fallen victim to the same type of fraud. They had a new supplier, whose bank details were quickly switched to a fraudster’s account, where subsequent invoice payments were diverted to the tune of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
At the time Expert Investigations were also aware of a council in the same area diverting funds into the same fraudulent account before all funds were withdrawn and the account closed.
David adds: ‘If it is true that many organisations have or are suffering from fraudulent activity then is each case being taken on and investigated by the company or by law enforcement? This is particularly pertinent as with these current cases where non-for-profit and public sector organisations are being targeted, there is also a public interest element, and in our client’s case the fraud loss is the equivalent to ten family homes.”
For further information about Expert Investigations: www.expert-investigations.co.uk
About Expert Investigations
David Kearns, Managing Director, is a former Police Field Intelligence Detective who established Expert Investigations Ltd 13 years ago.
Expert Investigations has offices in Birmingham, Warwickshire, Leeds and London. Clients are in legal, banking, commercial and service sector companies.
Expert investigates a range of issues from Theft & Fraud, Fraudulent Claims, False Absenteeism, Bribery and Corruption and Employment Issues such as breach of contract and restrictive Covenants, using a variety of investigation methods such as Surveillance and Observations, Undercover, Computer and Data Forensics, Covert vehicle tracking and cameras.
